Spriggan's Gate
by GhostOfOnyx
Summary: Spriggan's Gate. A dark guild under the authority of Grimoire Heart gains the ire of an entire kingdom after the tragedy of The Longest Night. Since then Salamander has found himself at the center of a Council sanctioned manhunt. However, Nothing at this point will stop Natsu from seeking the truth about his father. Can the Salamander save himself from Darkness?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! I have returned to writing! Things have been really busy with college for me since I was an engineer, but I have finally decided to redo this story. It was something that I felt had a lot of potential but was just too weak in the beginning and didn't set up enough for the rest of the story. Hopefully I can stay motivated to getting 4 chapters out a month but we shall see. Also please let me know in reviews if you'd want them to come weekly or monthly as a set.**

* * *

_X784_

It was a beautiful day in the City of Era, not a cloud in the sky. The sun beamed down brightly on the city. Couples walked in the parks, street performers animatedly did their routines, and...

"Damn it!" An elderly man yelled in frustration. He slammed the portfolio of reports he was holding on to a long stone table. The wrinkles displayed on his face growing evermore creased as he furrowed his brows in anger, a powerful aura flaring slightly under his emotional tirade. "He's just one damn _man_-_we _are_ Magic Council! _I don't understand how we haven't managed to gain one single piece of useful information about him!"

"G-Gran Doma! Please calm down!" One of the other councilors pleaded from their seat at the table.

The gray-haired man sighed as he ran a hand through cascading gray hair. His hand passing seamlessly under the pointed wizard's hat he wore on top of his head. "I'm sorry. I simply fear what is to come with the other dark wizards who will lose their fear of the Council. His notoriety is probably kingdom wide by now."

"Well if you ask me because of him this job has been more interesting than it has been in years. Honestly, it'd be a shame if no one were there to cause trouble." Another male voiced chimed in from across the table. Sitting his head in his hands, the outspoken man gave an indifferent huff as he tried to push his spiky blue bangs from in front of his tattoo clad face.

A roar of outrage overtook the other Councilors.

"Siegrain! You bastard!"

"People are dead!"

"Now, now Lord Siegrain has a good point. It's no fun playing the hero if there's no villain to be the opposition." A youthful woman chimed with an almost mockingly sultry tone. She fiddled idly with the small glass orb in her pale hands.

"By the gods! Ultear!" Another elderly council member voiced. "Seriously? How did these brats get on the Council in the first place?" He mumbled under his breath.

"That's simple. It's because we have a lot of magic power, old man." Siegrain countered and gave the man a devilish smirk.

"Siegrain-You!" Org, the second seat of the Council, shouted with irritation.

"ENOUGH!" Gran Doma roared as he forcefully slammed the butt of his staff into the smooth stonework at his feet. The cracks that webbed their way across the floor propagated a governing silence.

However, this didn't stop the entertained smirk from encroaching on Siegrain's visage.

"The vast world of magic is filled with many problems - it will always be! It is a dynamic thing… However, stopping this man and his guild takes prominence! We eliminate him and his guild is dealt a major blow…the people here need to see that the Council asserts its power in this kingdom of Fiore. Hopefully, this will reduce the likelihood that another dark mage of this ilk will rise to this type of notoriety again." Gran Doma ranted, his righteousness oozing out from his words.

"First, double the amount of the council's Reconnaissance squads, as well as the number of our spies to follow up leads on his whereabouts. Secondly, send out requests, at once, to all the major guilds. Place a 50,000,000 J S-Class bounty for his capture - _alive_. It would be problematic if we have vigilantes killing innocents under the pretense of this miscreant…. By the gods, if this continues to get out of hand, I will personally make a request that one of the Four Gods of Ishgar hunt him and his disgusting guild down." Gran Doma continued. "We must eliminate the one they call... _Salamander!_"

* * *

The smell of the sea hung heavy in the air. So much so, that the pink haired man guiding the horse drawn cart had to resist the urge to wrinkle his nose in disgust.

_'__What was Ardet thinking? Sending him and the little one off to do some bullshit that literally anyone else could have done – especially when he knew they couldn't ride in the damn cart!'_

He let out a deep sigh and gave a feeble attempt at stretching. In truth, the cargo being transported was something they really did not want falling into the Council's hands. He could understand the extra security. Apparently, there was quite a handsome fee being paid by a light guild for its discrete and safe delivery. But, good ol' Salamander wasn't privy to all of his asshat master's dealings.

He relished the overbearing heat of the afternoon sun, at least to him it was pleasant, as he descended down the lush emerald hills into Hargeon. The warm, humid, wind breezing through his open vest provided the little comfort needed to make the weather perfect. His onyx eyes flickered over the "town" in question. Their sharp acuity picking up on the bustling activity of the seaside port. However, he couldn't escape from how heavy they felt. It's as if the bags under his eyes actually filled and were trying with all their might to pull them closed. At least it was a relief to not have transformation magic wearing him down as well for once...well besides what he used to cover up his guild mark. Ardet would probably get mad, but what are the odds someone actually sees through him? Probably Zero. Although, the extra comfort a transformation gave him was starting to become sorely missed.

_'__Maybe I should actually try and get some rest later…'_

He lightly spurred the horse on to keep it on pace. After a quarter hour or so, he spotted his partner drifting back towards him.

"Natsuuuu! You won't believe it! Oooooooi!" The boy shouted repeatedly with excitement at the edge of his auditory range, and somewhere inside him the pink haired man knew this meant something taxing. The potential thrill of being driven on the run would help distract him from his fatigue though. After several minutes of the boy flying closer with the help of his trusty flying feline, Lector, he decided to humor him.

"What? Out with it Sting! Can't you see that I'm bursting to know over here?" He shouted as his annoyance over the repeated calls grew.

"There's this guy doing sketchy stuff over by the port!" Sting beamed with pride as the duo landed gracefully in step with him. Lector released his magic and dropped onto the blonde's shoulder.

"Really? Sting I sent you days ahead to scout for Rune Knights, bounty hunters, and prying eyes. Not the bastards running the underground or whatever."

"Hey! I checked this time Natsu!" Sting pouted, "I didn't sniff anything out. So long as we don't make a mess when we leave with the parts, we'll be fine!"

Natsu shuddered slightly at the memory of a close call in the outskirts of Crocus due to Sting's carelessness.

"But you'll love to hear this Natsu." Lector chimed in.

"Yeah, that guy I noticed is the guy that we've been hearing about!"

"The guy pretending to be you!" Lector beamed, basking in the pride of their "achievement".

"Huh? The guy using my nickname?" Natsu questioned, "How's he getting away with that? Feel like any rumor regarding me would get pounced on quickly."

"I dunno," the boy replied idly. "But, by the way the couple of girls he had with him were fawning over him you'd figure he was just some celebrity."

Sting shifted his hands up and behind the back of his head, thinking.

"Plus, they were being pretty quiet about it. If it weren't for our hearing, I doubt I would've even noticed really."

"Hmm." The elder slayer mused. "…Whispers still have an odd way of traveling. Something smells fishy."

"That's just the fisheries, Silly Natsu." Lector prodded.

"You know what I meant dammit! Let's get into Hargeon and finish the deal. Then, we'll see if there's time to teach that guy a lesson."

* * *

Shortly after the sun began to wane over the horizon, Natsu, Sting, and Lector shadowed the imposter into the restaurant Sting tracked him to earlier. After being seated themselves and ordering some food, Natsu found himself accidentally making lingering eye contact with one of the fake's groupies. The blonde's chocolate brown orbs were simply magnetizing, and they have stuck with him since they parted ways. He couldn't bring himself to look away. However, the way her visage quickly warped into distress shook him a little bit. Like a sudden realization hit her.

_'__I wonder if somehow she saw through me…like the fake I am. Well, I do have a scary face right now, haha.'_

Gazing down into a puddle, he examined the disguise he had donned. The anxiety that plagued him all afternoon wouldn't settle until he did. A scar marred the left side of his visage, and his hair was now as black as tar. A simple disguise that wouldn't drain too much magic, and it served to settle his nerves enough to follow through with his plan to make sure his imposter got the ass whopping he deserved.

After all was said and done, they tracked the imposter's boat roughly 5 miles by shore to a recessed grove in a hillside. They were most likely heading west towards Bosco. His suspicions of slave trading seemed to be confirmed as they watched the imposter's crew lackadaisically transporting dozens of sleeping women into the cavern that served as the shelter for the outpost. Although they weren't being that quiet, the crew worked well under the veil of darkness. Dim fluorescent lachrima guided their footing along the shoddily constructed dock and into the cavern. Natsu had a very hard time believing the conditions inside for the women were very uncomfortable.

_'__Well, it's not like I love the people of this Kingdom anyway…'_

"Alright", he spoke with a breath, "Sting and Lector do you guys remember the plan we talked about on the way over here or do you need to hear it one more time?"

"Uhhhhh…. I think I remember?" Sting said.

"Mhm mhm! Sting remembers!" Lector reaffirmed with nods, completely ignoring the question was directed at him as well.

Natsu deadpanned and gave a sigh.

"No matter what happens meet back at the supplies." Natsu said, "Lector, you're gonna go tip off the guards in Hargeon about the slaver's cove. I'm sure they've gotten plenty of reports about missing people tonight so I'm sure they'll want to act fast. If we're lucky we'll have about two hours total before they get here…."

"Wait isn't that like a super bad idea Natsu?" Sting said flatly, obviously trying to wrap his head around such a ridiculous notion.

The Salamander felt the tick forming in his forehead.

_"__These guys really didn't listen earlier," _Natsu thought, and involuntarily shuddered at the recollection of an earlier memory. _"I won't use the method Ardet used on me to beat that out of them though." _

"Like I said _earlier_," Natsu stressed causing the young duo to recoil slightly, "The distraction should make it easier to track back and retrieve those parts without hitting patrols on the way back north out of Hargeon since a lot of resources will be tied up treating and detaining people. Plus, if anyone notices us who's going to think these "heroes" are who we are?"

_"__Plus, I don't need my name linked to slave trading of all things…don't need my bounty going up any higher. I was lucky to be able to snuff this out today."_

He paused and looked at the cat. "Got that Lector? Make sure you don't get noticed when you leave the tip. I dunno steal a pencil and a piece of paper or something…You guys know I'm not that good at this discrete stuff…."

The cat nodded and jumped up in to the air. With a dim flash wings sprouted out from behind him and Lector was on his way before Natsu could get another word in. "You got it Salamander! Good luck Sting! I'll be back in a flash."

Natsu shot the cat a glare as it flew off snickering. He knew he hated being called that out loud. Afterall it was a moniker of his boss's devise.

"Just go wait at the stash." Natsu called out into the darkness, unsure if the cat even heard him. Sting's chuckle garnered the older Slayer's attention.

"Alright, your turn Sting - get in there." He said with a toothy smile. "Find the holding cell's keys and any important info they have. I'll give you fifteen minutes…. or until it sounds like they're beating the pulp out of you, and then bust the scene!"

"Hey!" The young Dragon Slayer said with indignation. "They're a bunch of scrubs, I bet I could take them with one arm!"

He gave a light chuckle. "Sureeeeee you could. Treat this as practice for a solo mission. You're getting close!"

Sting beamed with pride, "Seriously?! You think Ardet will - "

The pink haired man then proceeded to boot his loyal disciple off of the cliffside. He could barely contain his laughter as he watched the boy's mind process what had just occurred.

However, containing his terror and embarrassment the younger Slayer lithely shifted and dove into the water below.

_"__He's definitely getting better." _Natsu thought with mirth.

A strong gust blew southward towards the sea, and something carrying on it gained his attention. He instinctively readied himself in a defensive posture. As the overbearing smell of brine was taken out to sea, another scent shocked Natsu's senses as a strange metallic musk wafted among those belonging to the oak, pine, and wildlife.

_"__Is someone out there….?" _His pulse, although settling, thundered briefly in his ears from the sudden spike in blood pressure. _"Even if that strange scent was human…it's not too close. Best to settle this quickly though._

Natsu, albeit reluctantly, let his guard drop.

_"__I'm really hoping Ardet makes our move soon… ever since they upped my bounty I've been on edge. Afterall, that smell could be any number of things out here…"_

However, no matter how hard he tried, Natsu couldn't shake his unsettlement.

* * *

Lucy Heartfilia sat staring at the ceiling as she found herself in a cold, dark cell. The figures of two or three other women could be made out in the darkness if one were to squint hard enough, but none of them had awaken yet. She had no idea how long they had been out cold. Hours, days, it was anyone's guess. The darkness that permeated through the space around her gave her little idea to the time of day either. Her gaze was attracted to the flickering lantern light that wandered its way under the thick wooden door. Although rotten, the door still stood firm, and despite her best efforts she stood little chance of busting that door down without her keys.

Tears of frustration had built up in her eyes at the thought of losing her keys. _"I was so stupid not to try and get help, what was I thinking. I barely have any experience as a wizard under my belt. How could I have beaten Salamander…"_

Despite how negative the thoughts were Lucy also couldn't ignore that she may have sold every single one of these girls into unimaginable horrors by trying to play hero. She buried her tears in the crook of her armpit. The stinging pains of light burns from her endeavor's rand through her body as she did so. _"No, don't falter! You did your best…think Lucy! Your best asset was always your head! Everybody panics sometimes." _Lucy barely had any time between the point the charm was broken to when they were on the ship for the "party" and sailing away. It seemed as though her group was the last one. She had maybe 10 minutes at most to work with after the charm was broken. The pressure of the situation had gotten the best of her.

_"…__Ugh Aquarius is going to kill me if I ever get those keys back."_

Though try as she may to find a solution, her thoughts and mind felt hazy. Lucy's fatigued mind couldn't help but remember the scary looking man who'd broken her out of the charm spell in the first place. _"Maybe I should've signaled to him for help… I'd bet he was a wizard in Hargeon hunting Salamander. He seemed awfully interested in our little group."_ Afterall, his burning gaze had exuded such power and confidence that it was hard to imagine that man being anything other than powerful.

A sudden flash of light from under the door accompanied by a muffled grunt and thud, likened to a body hitting the ground nearby, brought Lucy out of her stupor. She hesitantly crawled closer to the door and pressed an ear to it. She could hear the jingle of keys as someone picked through them. Although unintelligible, Lucy could also swear she heard someone quickly talking to themselves. A pang of panic ran through Lucy. She thought it was a drunken crew member with malicious intent, but then a shout rang out.

"Oi! I found him- he ran down this way!"

"Ohhhhh no. Not good." Remarked a childish voice.

Several more shouts and flashes happened as the sounds of fighting filled the corridor outside her cell. Hope was beginning to swell inside her. _"Someone is here!"_

However, that feeling quickly returned to panic as the unknown savior was testing keys to enter her cell. She recoiled away from her listening spot. "W-wait a second!"

The mystery-man found his way in as the lock turned and the door flew open. More shouts reverberated down the dimly lit stone corridor. The torchlight briefly revealed a young blonde-haired teen as the door whipped open and shut just as quickly. _"It's just a kid."_

The young man slumped to the floor and let out a sigh as his panting calmed.

Lucy marveled slightly as light enveloped his hand and he surveyed the small cell. "Welp, that didn't go as planned." He threw a portfolio of papers and the guard's keys on the stone flooring in a pout. He looked towards Lucy. "Whatcha looking at blondie?"

Realization struck her now that she had gotten a better view of the boy, but indignation got the better of her briefly. "Hey! You little twerp, you're a blonde too!" The boy seemed slightly taken aback but she calmed herself. "I think I recognize you actually, you were at the restaurant with the scary looking dude with the scar on his face, right?"

"Huh?" The boy questioned with apparent confusion and defensively questioned, "So what if I was? How do you know that?"

_"__Man, this kid." Lucy deadpanned._

"No worries, I'm just glad you guys are here! Your friend seemed really strong. OH! My name is Lucy by the way. It's crazy to think that you're a wizard at so young." She held out a hand in greeting. The younger male just stared at it awkwardly as he replied.

_"__I wonder what kind of magic that is. I've never seen anything like it…" Lucy wondered._

"I know right, I'm pretty amazing!" The young boy beamed, pumping his glowing fist in the air. "And yeah that other guy isn't my idol for no reason! Super strong. We can just wait here a few minutes until he comes down and makes some noise. I can't wait to see him beat the crap out of that fake Bahahaha."

Lucy retracted her hand and grumbled, _"Rude brat, can't even introduce him-"_ The realization struck her for the second time.

"Wait, fake? What do you mean?" The older blonde questioned, and watch the boy's visage quickly shift from mirth to slight panic to discontent.

"Obviously, that weakling that kidnapped you is a fake." He scoffed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

However, before she could even reply the whole cavern system shook with a thunderous explosion. The other women in the cell stirred slightly in their magic addled sleep and Lucy couldn't help but let out a yelp. However, the young boy whooped with excitement and scooped the portfolio he had dumped onto the floor, leaving the keys, and bolted out the door much faster than Lucy thought was possible for a kid. However, Lucy zeroed back in on the keys and steeled her resolve again.

"As much as I would love to help out with what's going on up above…I need to get these other women freed first!"

With the sounds of alarm echoing down the stone corridors of what Lucy judged to be a hand dug cavern, she hurriedly started unlocking the cells on this level one by one. It took a little bit of time to figure out which key belong to which cell, around 20 in all, and by the time she had unlocked all the cells, and warned the few whom were awake to remain put until things were safe, the sounds of conflict had died down.

Curiosity besting her, the Celestial Spirit Mage wandered towards the wood planked stairwell that lead up to fresh air….at least more fresh air than what she'd been subjected to in that cell for gods know how long. She was careful not to step on any of the slavers the mysterious young blonde was able to incapacitate lest she wake them. Shaking those thoughts aside, she tentatively pressed upwards past numerous large dugouts for bunks, and what appeared to be a mess hall, and peaked into the main cavern.

Lucy was stunned at the devastation that surrounded her, freshly illuminated by the bonfire that was now the slaving crew's ship. Nearly all the supplies that had been stowed here in this open space were either torched or strewn about. Bodies, unconscious or dead, as Lucy had no way to tell, were scattered about. Some of them were groaning in pain at least. Unsurprising to Lucy, in the center of it all were two familiar figures. She slowly walked over towards them. As they were distracted talking to each other, and they hadn't seemed to have noticed her as she entered audible range.

"Natsuuuuu, that was amazing!" The young blonde yet again beamed as he jumped excitedly in front of the older mage.

"Natsu" chuckled in reply, "You weren't too bad yourself there, Sting." With a flaming finger he was reading through something in the portfolio.

However, the rest of their conversation was lost on her as movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention. A defeated and bloodied "Salamander" had crawled out from a man-sized crater in the floor, and his eyes bore nothing but pure hatred towards his assailants. He reached out his hand and she had to foresight to see the magic circle before it began to flare into existence.

"Look out!" Lucy screamed as she sprinted the remaining distance between herself and the odd duo. She made a split-second decision, albeit not a very hard one, and protected the kid. Much to the surprise of her fellow mages.

"Hey! who the fuck-" She saw the scarred mage's eyes widen as he focused in on what was happening behind her. "Shit!"

"**Prominence Typhoon**!"

Lucy pressed her eyes shut as she braced for the spell to hit. Searing pain raced across her back as they were engulfed in flames. Her mind turned blank and the heat ripped her breath away. All of her senses seem to flare to their max. She managed to stay on her feet long enough for a strange gulping sound to take away the pain after several agonizing seconds.

_"__Wait, that doesn't make any sense."_ Lucy thought as she collapsed sideways to the ground clutching her younger emancipator. A shocked "Sting" looking back into her eyes. They conveyed such an intense and utterly confused emotion that her brain couldn't process at all as her body started to shut down. Her eyes felt so very heavy and her vision swam.

"H-hey!" The boy shouted in distress, as he shook her slightly. The action gave her a little clarity but it was fading fast. "Open your eyes. Oi!"

She smiled as pain and relief fueled tears entered her eyes. _"I'm so glad. He looks okay…"_

As consciousness began to finally escape her, she managed to look up and meet the flat expression of Natsu. His mouth was moving but his words fell on deaf ears. Somehow, something in her head told her everything about him just screamed _"Why?"_ amidst his own self-evident confusion. Lucy's failing mind could barely comprehend that the mysterious man burped up flames. She faded to black, watching, as unreadable onyx orbs burned holes through her own windows to the soul…trying desperately to convey something he didn't quite understand himself.

_"__Undoubtedly, this man is…"_

* * *

Terror drove Bora the Prominence to his feet. He couldn't even scratch this guy by catching him off guard. The best he could say he did was having singed his clothes slightly. "W-what the h-hell are y-y-you." The blue haired man stuttered as he peered in unabated shock at the man who'd _eaten_ his flames as if they were some sort of treat. The black-haired mage seemed to ignore him as he stared down the would-be slave who'd jumped in front of them. He said something to her Bora couldn't hear. The young one trying to rouse her from unconsciousness. The black-haired mage turned towards him as his visage soured. "Me?" He said gesturing to himself, "I'm just your everyday mage."

This man had single handedly taken out his entire crew, and Bora was no pushover of a mage by any standard. He was no everyday mage. He gazed around him at the carnage. His men lay dying or unconscious as they were easily rebuffed and launched away by the monstrous strength of the man before him.

"HUH?! Bullshit! Normal people can't eat fire!" The blue haired man yelled out of exasperation and none too little in fear as he questions his suspicions. "You-You're him, aren't you?"

The dark-haired mage again whispered something to the boy. The man took off his red vest and burned something with a flaming finger and placed it on the girl. somehow the young mage had the strength to gingerly lift the unconscious girl. The terror of a man waited until they disappeared back down the stairs towards the hold area and took a single step towards him, leveling a glare. Bora stumbled backwards.

"P-please, I beg you. I-I'm a slaver I can give you anything you want! Money! Girls! You like that right?" He tried to grovel as he retreated. Bora felt the rough, cool stone of the cavern wall and he knew there'd be no escape. He collapsed into a heap; knees pressed against his chest as Salamander approached him. He began to sob. "P-please I'm… begging you I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry! I shouldn't have used your name!"

Salamander stood above him as tears involuntarily leaked out of Bora's eyes. His newfound proximity allowed Bora to _really_ feel the heat that rolled off the man. "Pl-" Bora hardly had time to register as the flaming kick slammed into the side of him head. He could feel the hinged bone of his jaw easily break under the weight of it. He was launched feet into the air like a ragdoll, and he grunted in pain as his back scraped harshly on an uneven section of the cavern wall he ricocheted off of. Some of his ailing bones cracked as friction ground him to a bitter halt. He turned himself to weakly gaze at his assailant. That kick had hurt like _hell. _Bora's vision swam and he felt nauseous he couldn't believe it was possible for someone to actually hit that hard. Unable and unwilling to do anything to defend himself in his current state, he quivered in fear as the psychotic man approached him. Natsu stopped as he stood over the man still glaring down harshly. However, to Bora's surprise his glare fell, leveling off into impassiveness.

"You committed two sins here today bluey." The man said plainly. "You hurt my little brother and you used my name…." A heavy silence filled the void between them and the dark mage lifted his head towards the ceiling in thought. "Y'know. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't actually enjoy killing people, but you're making a really good case for yourself." He began to pace a small circle around the spot Bora laid on the ground. The blue haired mage tried to move his jaw but even the slightest of movements hurt like crazy. His breathing was already erratic.

_"__I can't even talk my way out of this one." _Fear was beginning to make his whole being quake. Or maybe that was just the shock setting in. He couldn't really tell at this point.

"I really _should_ kill you at this point though. I feel like you've seen too much. Probably heard too much too…" He directed his gaze back to Bora. He clenched his fist and they lit ablaze. "I'll leave it up to chance then. If you live, you live. Don't get any funny ideas about telling the council anything either if you make it…don't think I won't break_ into_ prison to finish you off." He rose his hands to either side of him, muttering something about a flame in the left and flame in the right.

_"__This is the end! I'm dead. I'm dead!"_

Bora lost consciousness.

* * *

"Salamander!" Lucy gasped suddenly, snapping to an upright position only to regret it moments later as her skin of her back screamed in protest. She kept having these same horrible dreams every night ever since she saw him and experienced the ironically controlled madness that he exuded. She let the unsettling memories of Salamander's presence recede into the depths of her memory as she took in the seemingly tame nature of her white walled environment. It had already been a few days since their rescue from the slaver's cove.

_"__Y'know its rather muggy in here. Maybe that's what keeps giving me these fiery dreams with that crazy guy. I'll have to ask Patricia to open the window next time she stops by."_ She glanced at the clock: 9:00 . _" ….. Innnnn an hour and a half"_

She pouted as she flicked some hair sticking to her sweat streaked brow back behind her ear.

_"__I really do need to go look for my keys…"_ She thought solemnly with a frown. She fiddled idly with one of her nails, trying to distract herself from her worries. Despite asking, no one in the hospital she had heard anything of them. A few people suggested that they'd ask around, but the gods only know if they did or not. The company of her spirits in here would also make things a lot more bearable. She always found hospitals so…. miserable? _"I wish the beds could at least make it seem like I wasn't in a hospital too." _She thought grudgingly as she eased herself back down into a comfortable position. The skin on her back was making a real recovery. They had some nice healing salves that took care of the blistering, and did wonders for the pain. The only downside was that the bandages needed to be changed every several hours or she risked infection.

However, Lucy couldn't really complain too much about her treatment in Hargeon so far though. She has been treated as a hero of sorts for both fighting on the other's behalf and for freeing them from their cells. Even the port's governor was going as far as to cover her medical expenses.

_"__Thank god too because I certainly don't have the Jewels to cover this kind of medical expense…" _

The door clicked open.

"Kyaaaaaaa!" Lucy squealed in surprise, shooting back upright. She hadn't been expecting anyone this earlier. Without a knock at that. However, that squeal quickly turned from that of shock into fandom as she saw the woman who entered the room. "Y-you're - You're-!"

"Hello Lucy." A knightly woman with blood red hair and a sword strapped at her hip stated as she entered the room. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

However, her words were lost on stunned ears. The blonde's mouth hung agape, star-stricken. The red headed woman sighed with a chuckle as she grabbed the wooden guest chair from the corner and placed it by her bedside.

"Yes, Erza Scarlet. Fairy Tail mage. May I?" Erza spoke as she gestured to the chair.

"O-of course! But o-oh my God! I love your guild so much and it's always been my dream to join it! Do you think-"

The knight lifted a hand to quiet her rambling.

"We can handle pleasantries later; I would love to have you at our guild because all of the people here have nothing but wonderful things about you, but we have more concerning issues right now."

Just like that the atmosphere of the room changed. The blonde nodded in agreement and steeled her fraying nerves. _"Professional! Lucy, you can be professional."_

"I would really like to get your account on what happened at the human trafficking cove several miles east of here." She said sternly with a placid look on her face, but her eyes told of her real impatience. "As much as I would like to spend more time on information gathering, I'm already a day or two behind the prey I need to catch."

Lucy nodded and began thinking back to several days before when she had met her would be captor.

"...First there was this one odd guy who was calling himself Salamander. A rather bold move in retrospect. Really, he was a fake using the name to attract crowds of onlookers - particularly women, and then he was ensnaring them with a love charm..." Lucy fell silent as she remembered the uncertainty of facing that disgusting man on that boat.

"Could you describe him?"

"Blue Hair. Tattoo above the right eye. A real sick asshole overall." Lucy said bluntly.

"Ah, I see. That man was Bora the Prominent, once a member of the guild Titan Nose but was thrown out a couple years ago after running into trouble repeatedly with the Magic Council." Erza said, her gaze downcast in thought. "He was found in the rubble of the hidden cove in a severe medical condition. Although they've stabilized him, he's apparently slipped into a coma. Therefore, unable to answer any of my questions. However, based on what you've said my theory has more or less lined up. My real question is- Do you know who attacked the hideout?"

"Well…" Lucy could say she didn't really know for herself, but her gut was telling her it was the real deal. "I'm not certain, but my guess would be the real Salamander. It was another fire mage at least."

The older girl smiled softly and nodded, as if her own thoughts were confirmed. "This was found with you…. is this yours?" The red head questioned as a flash of gold filled the room and a red jacket popped into her hand.

"No, I don't own a jacket…well, vest, like that." Lucy said as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. However, as she studied the jacket, she remembered that it was the one belonging to Salamander. An unnaturally marred spot caught her attention. "Let me see that for a second." Complying, Erza handed it to her. She unfolded it and stared at the burns in question.

_'IOU1' _was crudely burned into the red fabric.

"Huh, apparently Salamander thinks he owes me a favor." Lucy stated more like a question than a statement. "But Wh-"

_"__Sting, go take her downstairs with the others. I'm going to torch this guy."_

"Wait! There was another little blonde boy!" Lucy exclaimed as the sudden memory came back to her. The outburst piqued Erza's interest and slight surprise. "His name was Sting, and they could both use this strange elemental magic that was like it was fused into their body."

_"__I can't remember what he ended up calling Salamander though."_

"Really? He was traveling with somebody? A young boy at that? That doesn't seem like something Salamander would do..." Erza said, and crossed her legs. A gauntleted hand now propped under her chin. "Well, on second thought given his case files maybe it's not that far of a stretch. He seems to have a soft spot for children. If it really was anyone other than Salamander still wondering why the other two wouldn't want to come forwards for credit otherwise."

"Yeah, that makes sense…" There was a pregnant pause that Lucy left to out there to stew as she thought of how to drop what she was about to say. "I'm not quite sure why given that his presence has given me nightmares, but the kid said Salamander's name but I just can't remember it right now. Everything is a little too hazy. I'm really sorry."

The Fairy Tail mage took it much better than Lucy had expected. The buxom knight even _smiled_ at her. The atmosphere in the room changed back to how it was when she walked in and it took some weight off of her.

"Haha, that's fine Lucy. What you've given me so far is far more than what any other lead has ever given me." Rich brown eyes met Lucy's own. "Sorry, you'll have to forgive me. I found it a little strange that Salamander let you live, and I even noticed the 'I owe you one'…. Another woman even spotted the boy that brought you back down to your cell. But, someone in the works with them wouldn't offer that information on their own."

"Huh?" Lucy questioned a small frown. "You thought I was working with them?"

"I'm sorry it was just a precaution. Especially before I gave you these back after all." The Knight once again held out her hand and a golden light flashed. "I believe these are yours as well, no?"

Lucy quickly discarded Salamander's vest and snatched the key ring out of the red head's hand. She clutched them dearly to her chest. "H-how did you possible find them? Bora threw them into the ocean." Tears stung lovingly in Lucy's eyes. Although she could feel Aquarius' key burning with rage. Thankfully there was no source of water in the room at the moment.

"After talking to the others who witnessed you fight Bora on this ship, I ended up finding these being held by a shipwright after one of his workers found them beached on a job. It took a little but I did have a few days to ask around about things while you recovered. You'll have plenty of time to remember everything else at Fairy Tail."

"Thank you so much, Erza."

* * *

Natsu walked down the dimly lit halls of their Hallow's corridors. The only ambient light being the torches placed ever so often along the length of the root knotted hall. A banner of the guilds crest could be seen adorning the walls every so often. A green flaming crown of sorts emerging underneath a raised castle gate on a field of white. Spriggan's Gate.

"Natsu why does this place have to be so creepy?" Sting asked quietly as he hovered close to the elder Dragon Slayer.

"Eh blame Azuma he made the place after all." Natsu drawled, obviously not affected by the atmosphere the two wandered in at the moment. "I dunno, maybe it's just a dark guild thing."

"Huh? That weird tree guy made all of this?" Sting asked in confusion. "I never would've guessed he was that strong."

Natsu laughed and then he ruffled the younger Slayer's hair, "I guess that's a lesson for you Sting. Don't underestimate the Seven Kin."

"If they're strong how come you're not one of them Natsu?" Sting asked with a smirk.

"Oi. Oi. Don't be getting cheeky with me." Natsu snipped. "I probably could be. The only ones I probably couldn't win against are Bluenote, Ardet, and maybe Ultear."'

"Yeaaaaaaaaaah sure, Natsu. Keep telling yourself that." Sting joked, and gave Natsu a light jab. He almost accidentally dropped Lector though, much to the pink hair slayer's enjoyment, and the Exceed gave him an unappreciative look.

The two walked along the path for several another minute in comfortable silence until they stood in front of two large double oak doors. Natsu proceeded to kick the massive doors open with little effort to reveal a large study Illuminated by a single fire place at the far end. A lone figure stood in front of it casting a long shadow towards the duo.

"Yo Ardet, we're back." Natsu called out, however it was followed by a few moments of silence.

"What were you thinking, Natsu?" The middle-aged man's voice, although soft, commandingly carried throughout the room. " Making such a ruckus."

Natsu sighed. "Come on old man, sure people might've known it was me but I don't want our name being dragged through the mud with rumors of slave trading."

The figure behind the fire turned around and leaned over the chair behind his desk. Natsu and sting came to a stop 5 feet away. The flames revealed a man maybe in his mid-forties. He had a strong jaw and clean crew cut brown hair that extended into a light beard. He wore a cloak with the emblem of Grimoire Heart emblazoned on the back along with simple trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt. Green eyes met onyx. "Natsu we're a _dark_ guild. Who cares what people think? You didn't want _your_ name being linked with that."

Natsu felt himself stiffen, feeling the weight of his master's words sink in. Examining them for the potential truth that they held. _"Did I…?"_

The Spriggan's Gate Master sighed. "Natsu, I'm worried about you. Ever since the Longest Night-"

Natsu unconsciously and suddenly flared his magic as anger bubbled up uncontrollably. Heat filled the room. Memories accelerating his internal blaze. "I'm fine Ardet! Let's not talk about this right now while the little one is here."

Ardet, seemingly wanting to defuse the situation, sighed and waved his hands in frustration. He smiled sadly at Sting as if to apologize. "If you say so Natsu but we _will_ talk about this soon. I just don't want you getting yourself captured, or even _killed_ over something so…unnecessary."

Natsu nodded in unthinking agreement, as he still thought over his master's words. _"Well, I'm definitely not telling him about that blonde chick. He'll blow a fuse."_

"How was your first job Sting?" Ardet asked pleasantly as he finally sat himself down trying to ease the tension in the room.

"I-it was good. It was good getting to spend some time with Natsu, and he even gave me some light responsibilities."

"That's good!" Ardet beamed. "I'm sure I'll be able to send you on another assignment soon. I have a few waiting as it is."

"I'm guessing one is for me then?" Salamander asked.

"You would be correct to assume that. However, the terms of the contract will change since they're doing something incredibly stupid that would serve to only hinder us for our plans in the short term. I have received a request from one of our satellite guilds Eisenwald. They'll pay you to help protect them while they kill the guild masters with Lullaby."

"Are they stupid?"

"Hahaha aren't you one to ask? They've already made a scene to the council though by busting the flute out, just snuff them out already. Maybe it'll make the council seem like we're policing our own or something. The only one that should give you any trouble is Shinigami Erigor."

"The wind guy? He's pretty strong ain't he?"

"Yeah, it would seem that way. I've gotten a file for you about him written up for you. Be sure to look over it before you leave."

"Alright! I'm all fired up then!"

* * *

_There it is chapter 1 of Spriggan's Gate is complete! Please Read, Review, and follow I'm really looking forward to some feedback here :D. _


	2. Chapter 2

Natsu grunted in annoyance as he listened painstakingly to the resounding cheering that shook the foundation of Oshibana's train station platform. The spine curling screams of the fleeing civilians and workers could be heard in the background as Eisenwald took over the station...Well, spine curling to any normal person in the least.

"What the hell are they gettin' so hype about? They got some stupid creepy flute? Even if they did get close enough to play it, it's not like the old geezers would be stupid enough to let them play it." He mused apathetically from his solitary spot in the corner, lazing back on top of a series of crates and barrels. He donned a simple disguise once again that changed his hair to black once again, changed his eyes to blue, and gave himself a series of tattoos across his neck, chest, and face.

"Good job Kage-chan!"

"Now our plan is complete! Next town over is Clover!"

Two faceless guild members from Eisenwald exclaimed, whom Natsu couldn't care enough about to bother turning his head to gaze in their direction. He decided it was more interesting to muse in his own thoughts than to their deluded egotism. He came here to take them down after all. Natsu was contemplating a vain attempt at a nap until the time came along to entertain himself, however he couldn't even manage that. Every loud noise seemingly echoing endlessly in his sensitive ears and strengthened his migraine. Well, not like he had the easiest time any other time though.

"Oi! Jackass! Who the fuck are you?" An obviously uninformed member of Eisenwald sneered as he strutted over, taking full strides over to the prone Dragon Slayer. Whom, in turn, simply peered at him with one eyed open in disinterest. Although it amused him slightly to see the paled, horrified faces of his comrades who looked much to scared for their own safety to intervene.

"I'm the hired help." He stated bluntly, causing the man's face hovering above him to contort in anger.

"Like we'd hire anyone to help us! Erigor-sama is strong enough to take on anyone that we may come across. Why should I believe that?! Besides you don't look that strong, it seems like a waste of money on a lazy-Ack!" The man's tirade was silenced as Natsu's hand shot out and snaked tightly around his throat, standing up Natsu gazed the quaking man directly in the eye.

"Sayin' shit about me from a piece of trash like you means absolutely nothing to me, but if you say another word to me while I have this headache, I'll burn you to a living crisp. Got it?" He stated coldly. The fire burning wildly in his eyes and the simple seriousness of his atmosphere held no ambiguity in his intent. The man went wide eyed in fear, his hands clawing uselessly at the vice grip cutting off his airway.

"Yo Salamander, what the hell do you think you're doing to one of my men?" The authoritative voice beamed down from above. Natsu felt the small drifts of wind ruffle his clothing signifying the powerful presence overhead, much to his jargon. He seriously couldn't win with this sort of stuff. First this prick insults him and now he's the bad guy here? "What's got you so worked up anyways?"

_"Well I'm not exactly the best guy either,"_ he thought chuckling to himself, with a smirk he responded, "Classic misunderstanding that's all." He released the writhing man from his iron death grip. The faceless guild member clutching at his neck as he stumbled off back into the safety of the masses.

"Yeah, yeah it better be." The newcomer growled from his levitating position in the air, a large scythe hung over his swirl-like tattoo clad shoulders. The tattoo continued symmetrically down his chest, stopping over top of his sternum. His white hair frayed wildly as it licked back, a single thick bang of hair overshadowed the left side of his face, and he had a small arrow like tattoo under each eye. "Either way, I came over here to tell you that I sensed a squad from the military pull up to the station just now, you looked bored so I came to see if you wanted to deal with them."

"How many?" He questioned.

"I don't know maybe a platoon or so, but the real problem will be those Fairy Flies. Apparently Kageyama mouthed off a lot about Lullaby and someone overheard. So, don't be so surprised when they show up." He grunted as he folded his legs into a sitting position, the man not bothering to hide his displeasure at the current situation. This newly received information definitely sparked Natsu's interest.

_"__Dammit , Fairy Tail of all guilds to overhear of this shit? What kind of luck do I have?"_

"Alright, I'll handle the military, but in exchange when Fairy Tail gets here I call Titania." He smirked up at the irritated man. It'd already been a week or so, or so he thought-he wasn't exactly the best with managing time, since he'd happen to see her arriving at the train station in Hargeon. She must be one of the S-Class eager to take his bounty. Undoubtably, someone blabbed about his involvement in this little farce as well so she'll be here. If he was going to go down, why not to some one toted to be the successor of a fallen wizard saint?

_"__If I don't get to kick your ass and leave first."_

"Oh really?" The white-haired man said in mock interest, his tone betraying his words. "Sure, I don't mind, but...what makes you so sure the fly you're talking about is even going to show up?" The white-haired man scoffed.

"Because...I'd expect no less from one of my hunters, Elinor." The pink haired man said pointedly, gazing idly with his arms folded across his chest.

"My name's Erigor, Salamander. _Shinigami_ Erigor" The man ground out, glaring sternly at the younger male, "Know your place before you make me want to kill you." With that said he floated off to only the gods know where, and Natsu certainly did not care enough at the moment to see what the windy bastard was off to do next.

"What a fun guy." He hummed out sarcastically. The Slayer marched towards the main corridor of the station, letting his keen nose guide him to the smell of steel and sweat. He walked calmly with his arms in the air and hands conjoined behind his head out of the platform and towards the front of the station. He stopped abruptly as the echo of metal clinking against each other emanated further from the other end of a corridor that led to the station's lobby area, the muffled resounding of boots signifying his prey. He examined the corridor quickly with narrowed eyes as he weighed his options. The tight confines of the corridor alone easily narrowed his options as he prepped for his assault. The Salamander's chest puffed out, and his head angled back as he angled himself back closer to the ground.

"**Karyuu no (Fire Dragon's)...**" He continued to let the pressure in his lungs build up as he awaited the proper moment to unleash the fiery blaze. Waiting ever so impatiently for the sounds and smells reach the edge of the staircase at the hall's end. _"Now!"_

"**HOUKOU (ROAR)!**" A massive spiraling cone of flame burst out of the mage's mouth, compressed and pressed forward by the stone walls that made up the corridor. The raging flames scorching the walls a sinister pitch black as they raced towards the unsuspecting military unit. He heard their alarm but by then it was much too late as the room filled with raging flames. Natsu could hear their pained screams echoing through the open space as he let the stream of fire die out, taking a second to cringe his nose to the smell of the scorched hair, flesh, and metal. "Damn," he said under his breath, "That took less effort than I thought it would. I should definitely have enough time to kick that guy's ass and hightail it."

"However, the sound of tires screeching from outside reverberated loudly inside his sensitive ears. The pink haired man flinched slightly as frustrated frown adorned his face. His migraine pulsing at the sudden shriek.

"Or maybe not!" He growled in irritation. However, Natsu's skin crawled unpleasantly as the unwelcomed thrill of battle raged somewhere inside himself, and it pried eagerly to be released.

* * *

Erza Scarlet panted tiredly as she leapt off the driver's seat of the magic four-wheeler. She stumbled ungracefully as her legs started giving out underneath her, but she willed herself to regain balance. Pressing herself forward towards the civilian encircled station in Oshibana. For whatever reason smoke could be seen rising from somewhere from within the building.

"Erza! You need to relax! If you keep going like this, you're going to get yourself killed!" The dark-haired man behind her exclaimed, his face contorted in worry.

"We don't have time for THAT, Gray! We finally caught up to Eisenwald, and we have no clue what they're planning. Whatever it is, it seems they've already started." She snapped back testily between pants, causing Gray to flinch in recoil, as she started a slow jog. "You of all people should know just _who_ else might be here too!"

"Geez, you should've at least let me or Lucy help with the S.E plug if you were going to be this way." He muttered to himself, just above a whisper.

The blonde simply stayed quiet, eyeing her new found friends in concern, as they closed the remaining distance between themselves and the station.

"Move out of the way! We're mages here to assist! Please let us through!" Erza barked as she began making her way quickly through the crowd of civilians, rather roughly in some cases. Her two guild mates right behind her. The trio could hear the station's employees attempts at keeping the civilians at peace.

"Ladies and gentlemen please stay back, it's dangerous here!"

"A train was derailed inside by accident, so no one is allowed inside!"

"Until we can confirm the safety inside, the station will be closed to the public!" The male voice called out over the megaphone.

"Is this really the best excuse they could come up with?!" Gray exclaimed just above the murmurs of the worried crowd as they broke through to the front of the pack.

Erza swiftly walked up to the man with the microphone and questioned, "What is the situation inside?"

The authority figure gave the scarlet haired woman a puzzled look, "Wh-Who even are you?!" He questioned in shock. "UGH!"

Erza's response was a quick and brutal head butt which rendered the man unconscious, and in turn almost being upon the second worker before the first even hit the ground. The other two simply looking on in mute horror as she rendered worker after worker unconscious asking her question.

"S-She really only likes people who answer immediately, doesn't she?" Lucy muttered to Gray as a small shiver ran up her spine and a cold sweat broke out over her body.

"You know her better now." He replied wide eyed and shaky as he attempted to avoid looking at the horrifying scene.

"A-a military platoon went in, but they've yet to return." The timid voice responded, shocking the other two as it garnered their attention.

"How about the dark guild Eisenwald?" Erza asked curtly, nodding in assertion to the worker's statement.

"They haven't come out either," the small man said as he scratched the back of his neck and avoided eye contact with the monstrously strong woman in front of him. "My best guess is that there is probably some sort of battle still going on inside."

Erza turned back towards Lucy and Gray. "You heard the man, let's go back up that platoon. A regular unit won't hold out to long against mages."

"Aye!" The two responded and they turned to rush into the station. They quickly made their way through the station, however the sight and smell that was soon upon them was a very unpleasant one. The unconscious, badly burned, and smoldering bodies of the entire military platoon laid sprayed out at the bottom of the staircase before the hallway that lead through to the station's platform. The scorched stone walls oozing a thick steam as some of the stone work fused into a gelatinous mass at the walls' base.

"O-Oh geez..." Lucy muttered as she surveyed the scene. Things from the slaver's cove began coming back to her. "This is…."

"At least it appears that they're all alive." Gray commented as he attempted to move one of the soldiers, only to pull his hand away in a hiss of pain as it came in contact with the heated metal. "For now, at least..."

"He's here." Erza said bitterly. An anger unbeknownst to the duo around her began to surface. "The situation has changed. Gray, Lucy don't let your guard down for even a second."

"Erza…I remember his name." The blonde looked up from the carnage around her, lucidity evident on her face, and locked eyes with Erza. "It's Natsu."

"How the hell'd you figure it out? I don't remember tellin' you." A voice called out from down the hall. The three Fairy Tail mages snapped into battle stances. Lucy gasped as the familiar form of Salamander appeared at the top of the staircase. His eyes widened slightly as his gaze fell on Lucy. The extra attention Lucy received from the man caused the Celestial Spirit mage to squirm awkwardly. "Hello again Blondie. To think I was sparing a Fairy Tail Mage that day."

Lucy didn't respond but she did her best to remain stoic. She wasn't convincing anyone though.

The man stared at her puzzled for several seconds in silence, scratching his chin, he wracked his brain for a solution. "Ah...Shit this _really_ puts me in a tight spot," the man sighed, muttering something about orders quietly to himself.

"Eh? This guy is the infamous Salamander? Like I'd believe something like that after meeting this-" Gray started to say in haughty arrogance. However, he was cut off as a hand slapped over his smirking mouth, startling the dark-haired wizard.

"Something just tells me that you probably shouldn't goad this guy on. " Lucy whispered quietly into her comrade's ear. Staring questionably at the powerful mage that stood before the trio.

"Damn right I don't Luigi! What the fuck were you about to say you damn exhibitionist bastard?! I dare you to finish!" Natsu roared as his face twisted into a snarl, slamming a fist into his open palm.

_"How did he manage to hear that from over there?! …And Luigi?"_ The blonde thought in a mix of disbelief and consternation.

"It's a bad habit alright!" Gray yelled back, as he noticed with ample frustration that his white dress shirt was once again missing from his body. He gave a quick glance for it in the vicinity, but his focus remained on the Salamander.

"HAHAHAH how the hell is that a habit?! You're probably stupider than I am!" The man bellowed in laughter, as he pointed mockingly toward the shirtless mage.

"Dumbass it's 'more stupid'!" Gray yelled back, further frustrated by the hypocritical statement of his adversary.

"Enough! Stop acting so casually! Why are you working with Eisenwald?!" The red head demanded furiously. Her hands bunching into rage induced fists. She could feel the cold metal of the gauntlets dig sharply into her skin, the metal yielding ever so slightly through the pressure of her grip.

"Same reason why you guys do jobs. I need money too," Natsu said with a shrug, leaning precariously against the wall, "it's not like I've done anything bad yet on this mission."

"Look around us!" Gray exclaimed as he gestured to the incapacitated members of the royal army. "Does this not count or something?!"

"Hey, I was just playing along. Plus, Elinor said I could fight Titania if I took care of them." The man replied casually, distractedly picking something out between his teeth. Apparently pleased with removing the object, Salamander stood up straight and paced the length of the stairs.

"You bastard! You think these men's lives are a game?!" The Fairy Tail mage once again giving a furious retort.

"Gray, stop it, even if you were to fight him, you can't beat him. You're not ready for an S-Class mission quite yet." Erza scolded as her face grew cold and serious, not noticing the bitter look that briefly washed over her companion's shocked face. "Besides this is an opponent I must face myself, there is a reason I will never-_ever_ forgive him." She said with a startling amount of intensity. The woman's hands glowing a luminous gold before two ornate twin broadswords appeared seemingly out of thin air as she kept her gaze locked onto the blue orbs of Salamander. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as his hands in return were consumed in an infernal orange flame, and a face splitting grin encroached his visage. His aura completely changed going from light-hearted almost to one of the highest degrees of killing intent Erza had ever felt poised at her. It was almost like someone else entirely. Her gauntleted hand shook for a second before she brutally repressed the sensation that threatened to erode her. _"What the is with that fire magic? I've never seen someone be able to physically be consumed by fire without receiving some sort of burn! Calm down, Erza, you need to win! For everyone!"_

Salamander's entire body burst into flames. The boy's frame and visage beginning to blur in the residual heat of the hellish fire. "Now I can finally truly test myself, against a Wizard Saint Class mage to boot! I get to see if I'm finally good enough to..." He softly trailed off as magic power reached a steady peak. "Come...Titania." Salamander growled out in a husky voice; his fanged grin still plastered onto his blurred face. The mage's raging flames shifting with his motion, slightly trailing behind as he began to walk slowly down the stairs.

_"What does he mean he's waited so long? Does he remember me from back then somehow? Either way I have no choice but to try to take him down here. I believe in Gray. He is probably strong enough to defeat Erigor by now, and from what I've heard about Gray and Lucy's last mission she is quite capable. They should be able to stop Eisenwald. "_ Erza convinced herself as she steeled her mindset for the fight to come. She could tell she couldn't afford the slightest of hesitation brought about by those worries.

"W-woah Erza you can't be serious!" Gray shouted as he moved to stop her. "I don't know all the details but do you really think you can win in this condition? What about Erigor and Lullaby?!"

"Gray-" However the red headed knight was cut off by the dark mage.

"What is that stripper talking about Titania? What "condition" is he talking about?" He questioned seriously with a flat face, cutting off the knight as his flames flickered out as he spoke. His personality flipped back to that of the previous person. The temperature of the room declined quickly in absence of the inferno.

"That is of no concern to you, criminal." She said sternly towards Salamander, but he wasn't having any of it.

"Of course it's of concern to me! Look I owe blondie and I genuinely don't like killing people. I can already tell you're going to give it everything you got, and believe me when I tell you if you're not at full strength it's gonna take more than what you got left in the tank right now to bring me in." The dark mage spat with some venom. "You have no chance of winning."

"And who are you to decide that!" She spat back, barely able to keep the subtle rage that simmered below her surface in check.

Salamander sighed. "Look just leave. Its not worth dying over. I'll take care of these guys here and-"

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME-"

**"Ice Make: Hammer!"**

The air cooled instantly and a gigantic hammer made of ice formed articulately above the stone stairwell, starting its descent before its formation even completed. It slammed down viciously where the fire mage stood. The hammer completely destroying the stone as it imbedded itself. There wasn't a noise that followed. Not by the trio of Fairy Tail mages, and not one coming from the dark mage. The silence continued for what seemed like minutes, and no one moved even a millimeter.

"D-Did you get him?" Lucy muttered first breaking the high-tension haze. Erza letting out her baited breath and Gray giving an audible gasp as he wiped his sweat glazed brow.

**"Karyuu no Tekken! (Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!)"**

A flare of orange fired out from behind the hammer as a massive plume of steam filled their view. The hammer exploded violently outwards, sending a storm dagger-like shards of ice at the Fairy Tail mages. Erza snapped her arms up reflexively in order to protect her face and exposed vitals from the barrage with her gauntlets. Letting out quick gasps of pain through closed eyes and a clenched mouth as they tore away at her skirt and exposed legs. The icy high velocity projectiles tearing through the thin fabric of her navy-blue skirt with ease as they lacerated the surface of her skin. Marring her legs with shallow cuts.

Erza let her body relax, as she opened her brown eyes to the white haze that filled her vision.

"Shit I can hardly see an inch in front of me!" The knight cursed mentally.

"Lucy! Gray! Are you two all right?!" She called out to her comrades.

"Yeah we're good." She heard Lucy call out. "At least, I think. Are you alright Gray?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He wheezed out with some effort. "A large chunk just knocked the wind out of me."

Erza inched closer to the pair as she raised her swords to a guard position. "Be ready and stay close to each other, we have no idea where he is going to attack from next."

Erza sat in wait. The cold steel of her armor pressed up against the side of her comrades. Surveying diligently through the thinning steam for any signs of the dark mage. _"This is absolutely crazy! Not only did he completely obliterate Gray's ice, but he sublimed it to this extent...where is he? Salamander has had plenty of chances to attack, the best of which being the opening right after he blew the hammer apart..."_

Another infuriating thought crossed her mind. Her hands flashed gold yet again, but instead of a sword this time she'd traded them in for a giant paper fan. With a mighty heave, she swung the fan clearing a good majority of the steam. The visibility of the room barely even hampered to reveal...

"Arrrrgghhhh!" Erza relented in utter frustration, the giant fan poofing out of existence in a flare of golden particles. "We need to go after him! Lucy go get some officers from outside and get these soldiers some care and meet back up with us! Gray you're with me! Let's go!"

"Aye!" Lucy responded confidently, a resolute face etched onto her visage before turning and dashing towards the exit.

"H-he actually ran? That guy really doesn't make sense." Gray muttered in a wide eyed. daze, still slightly shocked that his ice was blown away as easily as it was. It almost felt like he was facing a second Erza for a second there.

"Gray, come on!" Erza snapped from up ahead. The raven-haired man jumped with a start before he realized he was standing all alone in the midst of the downed soldiers.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath, "I'm coming!" He yelled back and raced off up the stairs after the red-haired knight, catching up but barely keeping up with her rapid pace as she tore her way towards the station's platform. They ran down the long stretch of burnt hall before making a sharp right, and entered the platform hall. To their surprise they saw the entire Eisenwald guild. To their even greater surprise they were all glaring at the all too familiar deranged fire mage standing in the middle of the open platform. Shinigami Erigor perched precariously above his fellow guild members on a train car.

Erza rushed forward in the blink of an eye, almost instantly closing the gap. "SALLLLAAMMMANNNDDERR!" She roared tackling the man to the ground. They skid several meters in a flurry of tangled limbs. Erza's armor sparking as the duo slid across the stone flooring. The pair came to rest about 10 meters from the congregated dark guild. Erza panted tiredly as she flipped over and straddled the unamused, but unresponsive dark mage pinning him to the ground with most of her remaining strength. "Gray do it now!"

Gray jumped into action, his hands shooting down to the ground. A faint blue mist clouding up around the appendages. **"Ice Make: Geyser!"**

At the sound of the incantation, Erza nimbly hopped off to the side as a spring of ice burst through the ground. Salamander had found himself encased in ice. He was lying in a quasi-supine position, unamused as only his head and left hand poked through the solid expanse of ice.

"What? I didn't convince you guys to leave?" Salamander said with a flat face, before perking up as he tried to move. "Ohhhhhh~. Stripper you did a better job with your ice this time! It's much more solid."

Gray gave him a light glare as he came over and stood next to the knight, "Of course it would be, I'm not an idiot. I put nearly double the concentration of magic into it. Can't have you simply blowing it apart this time."

"Well that would be a problem for me, I have to-"

Erza couldn't hold back her anger anymore and threw a gauntlet covered fist directly into the soft cartilage of his nose. A spurt of crimson blood flew out his nose upon impact as his head jarred backwards. "SHUT UP!" she roared, panting heavily. "Just shut up."

The Salamander just looked mutely at the ceiling, his eyes wide and mouth open. He blinked once. Twice. A third time. "Ooooooouuuuuccchhhhhhhhhhhh." The dark haired man groaned as he leaned his head forward to stare at the two. He struggled to keep his eyes open as he blinked away tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes.

"Hahahahah Salamander I never would've guessed you were into this kinda stuff." Erigor chided in over the silence. "Well doesn't matter anyway, you and your two little fly friends here are going to be dead soon shortly anyway."

"Huh?" Salamander questioned dumbly, "Are you sayin' you have what it takes to kill me?"

"Of course." The Ace of Eisenwald said with a sinister smirk. "Besides if I don't take care of someone who was about to betray me, then I might lose some credibility here. To make it even better, if I kill the famous Salamander, the whole country might know sing of the name Shinigami Erigor! Hahahah!" His maniacal cackles were followed by an earth rattling cheer from the lackies of the Eisenwald guild.

_"Betray?_" Erza thought confusedly as she studied the scene before her.

"Hey, cut me some slack. Orders are orders here. I probably coulda kicked your ass and left by now if Red hadn't so rudely interrupted me. That woulda been the tamest way to end your suicidal little plans."

Erza somehow resisted her urge to punch the infuriating man again and focus her attention solely on Erigor. "What do you intend to do? Depending on your answer, I may have to punish you for it." To emphasize the gravity of her words she summoned forth some of her magic power. The ends of her hair blowing wildly in its wake.

"We just want to full around a little." He taunted. "We have no jobs, so we're bored." The entirety of Eisenwald laughed uproariously at the blatant mockery. Erigor ascended into the air. "Don't you get it yet? What do they have at all train stations?" The man jeered once again in mild amusement.

"Station?" A several second hiatus filled the void until he elaborated further.

"Huh still don't get it do yah?" With that said, the remaining Fairy Tail duo and the Salamander watched as Shinigami Erigor lithely maneuvered through the air. Coming to rest next to a large pole with an intercom speaker at its pinnacle. He gave it a light tap, the metal sound reverberating throughout the platform. "Time's up." He said with animosity, a sinister smirk etched onto his tattoo clad face.

Erza's eyes went wide as the gut-wrenching chill of realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "YOU'RE PLANNING TO BROADCAST LULLABY?!"

"What?!" Gray exclaimed in shock, flinching back slightly as realization hit him as well.

"Fwahahahahahah!" Erigor laughed with vigor. "There are hundreds, no probably a thousand or so people crowded around this station right now. If we broadcast it loud enough maybe even the whole town will be able to hear the sweet melody of death."

"Indiscriminate mass murder?!" Erza exclaimed yet again as her anger started to build up once more.

"We are simply cleaning up those fools who live their lives enjoying their rights, without even paying the slightest attention to the fact that there are those who have had theirs revoked." Erigor proclaimed prophetically towards the sky, his whole body leaning backwards. "Living a life being oblivious to the unfairness of this world is a sin. Thus, the Shinigami has come to punish them! A punishment rightfully called _death!_"

"T-that's just disgusting." Gray commented, the anger and disgust evident in his voice.

"Hmmm." Salamander hummed, a face of high concentration thought apparent on his face. "Something doesn't quite add up. What does killing a bunch of random people have to do with-" However he was cut off by Erigor.

"Sadly, it's time for you to die now." With a wave of his hands four magic circles appeared around them in all direction while ferocious winds assimilated around his body. Each of the main seals having two orbitals with four more smaller sets of seals in each. The four seals circling slowly around the trio of mages. "Get torn to shreds flies!"

"When did he-?!" Gray exclaimed as he swung his head from seal to seal.

The Fairy Tail mages moved into defensive postures, not noticing the wide-eyed look of recognition wash over the Salamander's face.

"Shit!" He screamed. Fire igniting around his arms under the ice. Erza watched as every vein and muscle bulged under the strain as he tried to force his way out of his constraint "Why the hell is there four of them?! Damn it Ardet!"

_"I don't specifically know what he's talking about, but he's right. Whatever spell this is, just by the magic present I can tell it's a dangerous one! But how, Erigor is only supposed to be an A Class mage?" Erza thought to herself. "None the less that doesn't matter now. I need to focus on how to protect us. I can probably block whatever it is with my Adamantine Armor, but then there's Gray... What to do what to do?!" Her thoughts raced through her head at a mile a minute._

_Clink. Crack._

"You're lucky I owe that blondie one!"

With a rush of heat rolling off the crumbling mass of ice Salamander rushed her and Gray, placing his right hand on the side of her armor and another on Gray's back.

_"Damn it! I let my guard down!"_ She was just about to retaliate when for whatever reason she caught a glimpse of his face, and it stopped her dead._ "I-is he worried?"_ That was the last thing Erza could think before the whole place went to hell.

**"Karyuu no Akugeki (Fire Dragon's Grip Strike)!"**

Erza felt herself blown to the side with tremendous force, the portion of her Heart Kreuz armor subjected to the attack shattering and scattering to the ground in a trail behind her projectile path. The debris ranging in shapes from large chunks of metal to tiny metallic shards the size of paperclips. She could only look back over her shoulder at the man in shock as she cleared the orbit of the magic seals.

Everything from this point on was moving in slow motion. As to make sure that everything in the next turn of events would remain permanently ingrained into her memory. She could feel the slow tingle signifying the onslaught of pain brought about by the singed flesh of her side. She saw...everything.

**"Grand Emera Baram!"**

There was a brief pause before the purple seals flashed, disappeared, and activated. Four massive torrents of wind erupted from where the seals once existed. The tore through the ground, completely eviscerating the stone flooring. All converging on where they had just been standing moments ago. She watched in disbelief as her last fleeting visage of the Salamander was lost in spin of flame as the torrents collided. The contracted, and expanded in a mass of oscillating winds before compressing further inwards. The mass of winds extending into a tornado-like column state, blasting through the roof of the platform.

Everything sped up again when she landed awkwardly. She released a shout of pain as a jagged piece of morphed armor stabbed into her burnt side. Slotting in just below her ribcage. The burning pain causing her to squirm on the ground. **"K-kanso(Re-quip)!"** She breathed out in a hoarse whisper. Reveling in the feeling of relief as her armor evaporated into a mist of golden particles, and leaving her in a sleeveless white blouse, now stained red along its length with her blood. She looked back up cradling her wound in time to see the massive tornado destabilize and dissipate. First the first couple of seconds there was nothing besides the raining debris. Then she saw it. The incredibly mangled and lacerated body as it fell through the air. Glinting in the sunlight that now filtered through the open roof. Her mind then registered who exactly it was.

She gasped in horror and realization; the body hit the ground with a thud unmoving. She got to her feet and staggered over towards the man in a haze. Taking a quick look over to where Gray lay, finding herself content with the fact he seems to be unconscious with only a minor burn on his back. _"Why? I don't get it? Is he dead? Is this actually what I wanted to happen to him?"_

She stared in awe as various parts of his body began to glow faintly, and all of his subtle transformations began to fail. She was surprised to see how very little of his body actually changed. The most notable being that his hair went from black to a most vibrant shade of pink. All kinds of memories flashed briefly through her mind as she stood over the unmoving man, completely oblivious to the world around her. His body was almost completely covered in gashes and cuts, blood staining parts of his pink hair a deeper red than her own. In several places pieces of her shattered armor stuck menacingly out from his muscular frame. The only thing that could even remotely begin to be assimilated as rational thought through her conflict was: _"Why?"_

"-They're pretty banged up after that so I'll leave you guys to swat the flies. The next time you see me, our objective will have been realized!" The words of Erigor bringing her back into the ambient world. She looked up in time to see him fly out one of the windows.

She looked lazily with dead eyes at the amassed members of Eisenwald to see them smiling viscously, some lustfully. She took one shaky foot forward before she felt something grip her ankle. She looked down and saw Salamander somehow conscious, looking at her through half lidded eyes. "Real T-t-t-target," He stumbled, coughing up a bit of blood.

"Gui-ld Master's Meet-" He slumped back down, slipping into unconsciousness before even finishing his sentence. Erza simply stared at him in silence.

"I understand." She said no louder than a whisper, ignoring the annoying cat-calls and taunts of the Eisenwald fodder, dashing forwards. She hacked, slashed and spun with incredible speed, grace, and agility. Indiscriminately cutting down member after member. Switching expertly between the differently types of blades. She noticed a dark figure in the corner of her eyes, parrying just in time to slash through a snake of shadow. However, she now found herself bound by show like strings around her wrists and ankles.

"It's all your fault, you know?!" A man hissed as he materialized in the ground only inches from her face. His dark eyes holding a smoldering hatred. His ears had blood covered bandages over theme. "It's all your fault Erigor-sama did this to me!" He shouted in her face.

With mild effort she brought her right fist across her body and stuck the man in the face. "Shut up. I don't care."

"Of course you don't! What does someone like you from a regular guild even understand about what it's like to be in a dark mage?! Huh? You all just sit up there high and mighty, while we just get shit for everything!" He spat hunched over one of his knees. She responded by kicking him in the side.

"I told you I don't care. Not because you're from a dark guild. No, because first you threaten innocent people, and although I will never be able to forgive him; you almost killed a man in front of my eyes, and then he tells me that you planned alllllll along to kill the man who_ raised_ me as his own _daughter._ Right now, I couldn't care less about your petty, pathetic whining!" She said coldly the man quaking in fear at the monster before him. With a swift punch the man lay unconscious on the floor. She finally looked around herself openly for the first time. The scattered unconscious bodies of the Eisenwald guild members lay at her feet. If there were any more, they must've fled somewhere.

"Erza!" The red-haired knight's face softened and she turned to face the familiar voice, seeing Lucy running up with what she could only assume to be one of her spirits, a pink haired woman in a maid outfit, sporting a bound chain on each one of her wrists and ankles. The blonde looked around at the carnage of the room. Her eyes lingering on the downed form of Salamander. "W-what the hell happened here."

"I'll explain on the way-we have to get to Clover as fast as possible."

* * *

**Please remember to review and follow for more!**


	3. Chapter 3

Erza stared blankly at the man who lay across the seat from her. Her thought process was completely dammed and she found herself in a haze. The only thing that she could discern in reality was the weight of the knife on her lap. It would be so easy, _oh so easy_ to drive the knife straight through his chest. Watch in bittersweet relief as his existence simply vanished. His flame extinguished from this world. _Forever_. She knew she would be doing the world a favor by taking this man's life here and now while she could.

The reports from the magic council held this man responsible for the deaths of over 260 people in various villages during the Longest Night. No discernable reason either. None of the villages had a single thing in common. No valuable resources, no particular ethnicity, no companies or guilds to speak of, no notable crime records...they were just _average_ villages in the vicinity if each other in the countryside. People living out normal lives, segregated from the rest of the world except for the trade and travelers that would make their way through on a daily basis. It disgusted her to no end that the monster in front of her could simply take another life without some sort of clear-cut reason. Some sort of drive or motive.

...It was hard to imagine this bastard actually doing anything worse but, unsurprisingly he seemed to surpass her wildest imaginations. She knew the gritty truth. She had done her research. _He didn't kill the kids._ Despite the 6 villages he razed to the ground, he had made 34 orphans._ He had made kids like her._ In a way it seemed like a twisted sense of humanity. However, she knew the pain that those kids experienced. She knew the pain of watching as her whole world burned around her. The ebbing away of all that you had known and replaced with a whole new reality. A living hell that festers the feelings of revenge and hatred. The hopelessness and despair that shakes you down to your very soul. That is not something a child, _no anyone_ should ever have to experience. It was not humane at all. She couldn't help but wonder though when she was first looking into the mission information that with the surplus of witnesses that there couldn't have been a single piece of information regarding his appearance. _He'd use a high-level transformation magic to alter his appearance each time._ At least that's the conclusion the magic council came up with. It was undeniable that it was him though, after all it appeared that the same high-level fire magic had been used. That's right, she wouldn't be killing a man, she'd be removing a faceless beast from this world. Like the other monsters she is commonly requested to hunt and kill. He'd messed up just this once, and she'd make sure that he'd pay for it. After all, it was complete luck that she stumbled upon his error. Almost like it was fated to happen. She was quite certain of that at least, especially from his reaction at Oshibana that was the case anyway. She wasn't going to allow this man to walk free again in any case that's for sure.

She watched as he grunted and shifted awkwardly in his unconscious state. As if he was uncomfortable. A sheen of cold sweat adorned the spots that she hadn't bandaged, glistening in the light that filtered through the cab windows of the magic four-wheeler. She had to admit his wounds were atrocious. The winds had made dozens of lacerations on each of his limbs, not to mention the places he was _impaled _by armor shrapnel. Twice in the right shoulder, once just below the left side of his collar bone, a fragment stuck halfway through the side of his abdomen, and one directly buried into the quad of his thigh. It was a miracle that the combination of the two didn't strike any vitals. His skin was pale and clammy underneath crimson stained bandages, his breathing irregular and strained. He most likely had some broken ribs. A trickling gurgle signifying blood in the lungs.

Hazy memories started to flash in her mind as she stared at him, most of them slipping by just out of the reach of her consciousness, but still nabbed some to get a glimpse. _Memories that she really didn't want to see._

_Fire raged all around her._

_She could still vividly hear the shouts and screams that echoed through the darkenss. _

_People crying._

_People's pleas for help as they bled out before her._

_People __**dying**__._

_"Get all the children and get out quickly!"_

The weight on her lap felt like it grew 10-fold.

However, this only brought her back to the source of her haze.

Why had they saved him? Why couldn't she kill him? She still hated him, no in fact, she despised him. Despite what she had said to the Eisenwald guild she could've left him there to bleed out on the floor...but she didn't. Afterall she wouldn't have killed him so she wouldn't have broken one of the unspoken rules of Fairy Tail mages. "_A Fairy Tail Mage may not kill."_

She honestly couldn't answer that.

She was stumped.

...She assumed it was because she had such a clear picture of who this man was, only for it to blow up in her face in less than two minutes...Plus after all he did, it would've left a bad taste in her mouth just to leave him there like that. Not acting in that situation is just as bad as killing them yourself.

What she _knew_, and what she _experienced_ where two completely different things...

She still remembered the look in those eyes. The _intensity_. At first glance you could only see darkness, a hallow pitch blackness and the tinge of madness that'd you'd expect from the eyes of the notorious Salamander. _But- _In that very instant, she could see so much more. A flood of emotion. Worry, fear, some sort of deep emotional nostalgia she couldn't discern, but most importantly she saw _light_.

Gods! What was she saying, who she was saying it about! It was all just so _confusing_!

"-Erza!" Reality snapped back into motion around her. Erza looked over to the source of her name to see Gray poking his head into the open window from the roof of their vehicle. Who was now clad in his shirt after Lucy had luckily recovered it while moving the soldiers from the army. "Snap out of it! I understand, but we can deal with him later! We gotta focus on savin' Gramps!" He said over the roar of the wind.

She simply nodded her head silently to Gray, making a motion for the knife in her lap to disappear only to look down to see it was already gone.

_"When did...?" _Erza quickly glanced first to the unconcious dark mage, checking to make sure he didn't nab the knife in her moment of distraction, but that wouldn't have made much sense because she was certain she would've caught him in the act even if she was distracted.

"Alright, because Lucy says we should be getting there any minute now. Just wanted to give you a heads up."

"Uh-y-yeah okay." She said absentmindedly as she gave the floor and seat a quick scan. _"Did I...?"_

"Are you sure you're okay Erza?" She looked back over to her teammate to see him studying her curiously. A cut across his forehead from the landing he had after Salamander had blown them across the room. She locked eyes with his. "I know this is probably all really stressful for you. If...If only I had put more magic into my ice Erigor might not have gotten away."

"Yes, I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm fine now. Don't fret over it too much though, there's not much any of us could've done in that situation. It's in the past, we just need to live with it and move forwards. Like you said, we need to save Master." She said with a smile, watching as the tension eased from his face and he departed from the window with a quiet "alright". However, any way she replayed that scene in her head, she couldn't find a better alternative than what had actually happened. If she had switched to a different armor, she could've protected herself yes, but she ran the risk of tearing Gray to shreds much in the same way Salamander had been impaled by pieces of her fractured armor, same thing that applied to Gray's ice. In fact, as much as would like to believe in Gray's ability as a wizard, it would've been difficult for him to stop a spell of that magnitude. If it hadn't been for Salamander, most likely all three of them would've wound up in that sort of state. Yet another thing that infuria-

She shook her head quickly, let out a deep sigh, and decided to push all thoughts of the pink haired dark mage to the back of her mind for the time being as the Ice Make Wizard had suggested, choosing to focus on the town now silhouetted in the evening sun. Dusk was approaching ever so quickly as they raced down the railway.

After leaving the Oshibana Station the three of them had agreed upon the fact that the railway would've been the fastest, safest, and most direct route to Clover Town. As they wouldn't have had to deal with other traffic that may hinder their way.

Her expression finally softened as she peered at the vixen blonde who inhabited the driver's seat. She looked tired, a thick sweat forming over her brow and down her neck in the summer heat, but she didn't dare let their speed falter.

_"Compared to the girl I met in Hargeon, she seems much more confident now...I'm glad, she really wants to prove herself and that's become good motivation for her as a wizard."_

She knew how freaked out Lucy had been when Mira had explained dark guilds to her, and she could only hope that this could turn out to be a positive experience for her in the end.

The car hitched wildly as its tires ran over the tracks, and onto the ground just outside of Clover, not even too far from the Hall the Guild Masters were using for their meeting. They raced over the uneven ground, the torque of the wheels tearing up the earth in its wake.

Lucy slowed the four-wheeler down to a smooth stop inside a small clearing just off the rail line. Trees lined the slow sloping hill next to them, a thin layer of underbrush at its base. They could see the roof and lights of the Hall peeking over the canopy.

Erza took one last glance at the half-dead man lying on the seat. Watching through scarlet banged eyes at the uneven rise and fall in his chest. She popped the door open and stepped out of the car, Gray hopping down nimbly next to her.

However, the panting of their third teammate didn't fall on deaf ears. She tried to step off of the driver's seat only to lose her balance, stumbling until Gray moved in concern to catch her, an arm slung around her waist.

"D-don't worry about me guys I-I'll catch up in a few minutes I just need to catch my breath. Master takes priority here."

"Nonsense Lucy-"

"Go!" Lucy demanded cutting Erza off. She could see Gray stiffen slightly at the action, with every right to given his past experiences, but the circumstances were different and Lucy's chocolate brown orbs held such certainty that Erza couldn't help but comply with. "Besides," the buxom summoner said with a small contained smirk, "Someone has to watch sleeping beauty for the time being. Can't have him slipping off, can we?"

Gray couldn't smile and helped her down into a sitting position, her back resting against the side of their transportation. "Alright, Erza let's go kick that windy bastard's ass!"

"Hm." She affirmed, giving an accompanying nod. She cast an appraising smile to the blonde. _"Don't worry Lucy! I will protect Master! I won't lose anything important to me again!"_

Erza and Gray rushed through the brush, exploding out onto the uneven ground the hill sloped up into. Through the thin brush and trees to their horror they could see Erigor standing in front of a tiny elderly man. A small hat with two backward bending horn like appendages adorned the balding area on the top of his head, the reaming white hair billowed softly in the evening breeze. His eyes seemingly closed; his upper lip was relaxed allowing the bushy white mustache that inhabited it to sag slightly.

_"Shit!"_ Erza felt her heart drop into her stomach, the confident mood she had from before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

"Master Makarov!" "Gramps!" Gray and Erza tried to call from the distance, but a familiar figure stepped into the way.

"Shhhhhh." The man...woman-person said with a finger pressed to their lips. "It's not every day Macky gets to have a little fun, just sit back and relax. The best part is coming up, so just watch," He-she, _Master Bob_, the overweight crossdressing master of Blue Pegasus said in a sultry tone before his-her,_ Master Bob's _gaze shifted over towards Gray, "Oh my aren't you just a cutie."

Let's just say that she wasn't surprised when Gray hid behind her slightly.

"Master Bob?!" Erza questioned and then pressed in urgency. "We need to help Master Makarov, Erigor has Lulluaby!"

"We know that, just stay quiet and watch." Master Goldmine of Quatro Cerberus chimed appearing seemingly out of nowhere. Choosing to trust in her Master, Erza abided by in wait as whatever interaction between the two white haired males played out. Ready to act at a moment's notice.

* * *

_"Huh, where I am?"_

_Natsu couldn't see two inches in front of his face. An eerie pitch blackness hovered around him. Like a thick fog he couldn't shake. He also could've sworn his sensitive ears were picking up sounds-whispers all around him, but they seemed to remain just outside of his auditory range._

_"Hello is anybody there?" He questioned. He tried to summon forth some flame to illuminate his way but no matter how hard he tried; his power wouldn't respond to him._

_Despite not being able to see anything, his world seemed to flip underfoot in a nauseating manner for a second. The whispers growing louder, still saying inaudible things in their collective ramblings._

_All of sudden light flooded into his eyes, an all too familiar picture painted before him. A peaceful mountain town under a bright afternoon Sun. Like static on a communications lachrima the image fuzzed out and changed. It was only for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough to notice that something had changed. _

_"It was my home, you know." _

_Natsu whipped his head over his shoulder to lay his eyes on the new voice. Standing behind him was an all too familiar figure. A man the Dragon Slayer could only assume was in his mid-twenties. His short curly brown hair was styled wildly. His firm set jaw and heavy build making him appear as though he could've been a mill worker, possibly even a blacksmith. He certainly would've been deemed attractive to any women, except for one thing. The man's head was caved in on the left side of his forehead, just above the temple line. The fringes of the cratering charred black with blistered third-degree burns._

_"You don't think I remember that?" He responded solemnly, turning around to fully face the man. Shifting his weight so it sat on one leg. The ominous whispering growing louder in the ambience._

_"To be honest...No." He said, his one good eye locking its blue iris to his onyx. _

_"What monster would forget about the first life he took?" _

_"That's funny," He said with a dark chuckle, "Not like you even knew my name."_

_White hot pain ran through his body, a searing burn as if he were momentarily split in half. The whispers around converted into flashes of screams of agony and pain. The roaring of fire. The scenery around him distorted and changed again, the crimson sky filling with thick angry black smoke, the stone pathway glazing over with ash, and despite not facing the town he knew the haunting scene it would portray._

_"It's not like you ever knew any of our names!" The brown-haired man spat in venom as the pink haired boy clutched his head. "You knew absolutely nothing about us! What gave you the right to do that?!" The man further seethed, kicking the pink haired boy while he was down. The force behind the kick knocking Natsu on his ass._

_"I-I just wanted-" Natsu tried to rationalize, but the man would have none of it. Grabbing the boy by his spiky hair the man hauled him up to eye level. The massacred section of his skull now in its full glory before the boy's eyes. _

_"You don't think that we would like to see our families again too?" he ground out, "To be alive?"_

_Natsu refused to meet his gaze, ignoring the painful sensation of his hair about to be pulled out. The scenery around them still flashing animatedly. "Ardet said-"_

_"Bullshit! You don't actually believe that." The man tossed Natsu back down to the ground._

_"The fuck d'you know what I believe or not? Huh?" He replied, anger laced in the undertone as he stood back up._

_"Because you're weak boy."_

_"You don't have the power to even make the decisions in your life anymore, it's all been decided for you."_

_..._

_"This is probably why your precious Dragon left you." A wicked sneer plastered on his sickening face._

_"Shut the fuck up."_

_"Oh what was that now boy?"_

_"I said shut-the-fuck-up." He growled out again, his bangs shadowing his face. _

_"You just lost though; didn't you say that you wouldn't lose again?" He countered back. "You dare kill us for your cause and then you lose, to someone as weak as Erigor no less?"_

_Natsu remained silent his gaze locked solidly on the ground. The ringing in his ears was becoming almost unbearable. "I...lost?"_

_"Are you really going to let us die in vain?" Natsu could hear the man walking up to him, but he was currently in too much of a haze. The chorus of screams was back now, he could barely discern the words of the man next to him. "Then you need power. Accept my power boy."_

_'Wait wha-' Before Natsu could even finish the thought and make out what was happening the man had placed his palm on his forehead and Natsu's world went white._

* * *

Natsu shot up awake, searing pain racing down his right side as he felt his crack ribcage shift slightly under his skin. His vision was blurry, and his lungs felt heavy. He coughed heavily several times, bending himself over, watching as the blood spattered out onto the floor. He examined the crimson stained bandages that wrapped themselves most of the way around his body.

_"Who...?"_

He examined his surroundings through half lidded eyes. He wasn't sure where he was looking out the window, but he could tell he was in some sort of vehicle and that he'd been out for a long time. The thought of which made him slightly nauseated but he was in too much pain at the moment to really care.

Shuffling towards the side of the car he lazily kicked out the door, breaking the item clean off its hinges. It landed on the ground with a muffled clang against the grass, sliding several feet before coming to a halt. He stumbled out, barely keeping his balance.

He was slightly surprised by the startled yelp, not even noticing the familiar scent his enhanced senses had provided for him until he laid eyes on her.

"Oh Luigi..." He rasped out through burning lungs.

"S-Salamander! W-wha-! D-dont t-think I'll let you escape!" The blonde squeaked from her position on the ground to his left. "And my name is Lucy!" Although she tried not to show it, he could tell the girl was obviously tired. Magically exhausted at least.

_"Huh? Escape? The hell is she talking about."_ He studied the girl for several more seconds, too tired to actually do anything before three more familiar scents found their way to his nose. One of the three flaring his anger. Through grinded teeth he asked, "Luigi is Erigor over there."

"I-I don't know, but I'm not letting you go over there!" She said in defiance, shakily getting to her feet. Pulling off one of the golden keys that was hanging from the key chain that was wrung around her belt. It glowed gold as she poured magic into the key, "**Open Gate of the Golden-**" However the magic inside the key destabalized and in a flash of gold, the spell failed much to the horror of the caster who looked at him terrified.

_"I'm honestly tired of that look."_ He simply sighed and started making his way towards where Erigor's scent was coming from in a slow teetering walk. The lust of revenge and battle began to creep its way into his mind as the adrenaline seeped into his system, draining away the aching pain that wracked his body with every step. The life appeared to be slowly coming back to his hollow dead eyes. Which widened slightly in surprise when a fearful blonde somehow managed to put herself in his way, arms and legs spread wide. Her chest heaving from the physical exertion.

"I-I told you before-," she panted, "I'm not going to let you up there! I can't let you fight Erza! She's trying to save master, and I told her I'd keep you here."

Natsu cocked his head to the side, studying her. He could tell she was very afraid. her heart rate had risen, and breathing became accelerated. The muscles of her legs and arms were rung taut in places. He could practically-_no quite literally_ smell the fear that radiated from the blonde.

His nuetral epression dropped into a scowl, his eyes hardening. He could hear the blonde's breath hitch in her chest. Somewhere deep down this only flared his anger even more, although he wasn't completely sure why. He walked up to the blonde their noses inches apart as he glared into her eyes. "Lucy," he hisses, "I only want to fucking incinerate that Shinigami bastard. I couldn't give _two shits_ about Red at the moment."

Natsu lifted up a hand, pointing one finger on her chest above her ample breast. "He just made me relive something that I was hoping not to see again for a while. I need to pay him back for that." He pushed ever so lightly against the solid expanse of her sternum causing he the girl to lose her balance and fall onto the ground with a small yelp. "You understand, right?"

She looked confused, conflicted sitting there as he walked around her and continued on the path the would lead him to Shinigami Erigor.

"Hey-wait, come back!"

"Salamander-wait!"

"Natsu!"

He ignored the calls of the blonde for him to come back, giving a small backhanded wave over his shoulder at the call of his name as he continued to pick up his pace from his swayed stride against the will of his aching limbs.

However for whatever reason her morbid, _"I'm sorry guys."_ seemed to resonate within him as he reached the top of the hill, now by sheer willpower at a full on sprint.

* * *

_"Geez,"_ Master Makarov sighed tiredly in his head, _"Kids these days are just so stubborn anymore._"

No matter what path of subliminal reasoning he tried to talk down Shinigami Erigor, the younger white-haired bastard wouldn't take the bait. Erigor seemed dead set on ending his life.

"Well how about it Old Man, would you like to hear a song from this poor traveling musician, I need to make a living somehow you know." He said with what Makarov could only assume was an attempt at a friendly smile, but it just came off as plain creepy.

"Sure. Just one I'm busy though."

The man had slowly put the flute up to his lips, Makarov could practically see him shaking with anticipation.

_"Guess I have no choice."_ He relented tiredly. Before Makarov even had a chance to use his **Giant Fist of Justice **to squash the younger white haired man like a bug where he stood. Someone exploded from the woods, tackling Erigor from around the waist. His scyth and Lulluby clattering to the ground Makarov watched as the two figures grappled on the ground in a flurry of limbs.

The assaulter, a heavily wounded pink haired youth, managed to gain the upper hand. Rolling over the two over and straddling the stunned Shinigami's chest. Both hands wrung around the dark mage's throat. "BUUUUUUURRRNNNNNNNN!" He bellowed enragedly.

Makarov's eyes widened slightly when his hands began to spark and simmer, the beginnings of a flame forming between his fingers.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Erigor screamed in pain as the heat seared the flesh of his throat, and with a motion akin to a slap with his free hand Erigor had blown the Fire mage clean off of him with a gust of wind before an actual flame could be formed.

The pink haired boy rolled out of his tumble, stabalizing out on all fours his head lower than his hips as he beared his fangs. He growled viciously, leveling a glare that would make any ordinary man tremble.

"What-how the hell are you alive?!" Erigor croaked out hoarsley, rubbing at the tender flesh of his throat while warily staring down his adversary.

He never responded, choosing instead to continue glaring. The heat coming off the boy increasing with every second that droned on like an eternity as the two had their face off.

_"What on Earthland is that magic?" _Makarov thought to himself with curiosity.

**"Ice Make: Lance!" **Was called out from a distance much to the surprise of everyone in the vicinity. Thick spear like creations of ice came tearing through the shubbery like a hail of bullets, moving indiscriminately to impale the two wizards.

Erigor, being the closer of the two, eyes widened in shock from the surprise attack holding up a two fingered hand and yelling, **"Storm Wall!" **The lances shattered harmlessly against the torrent of wind that appeared to protect its master.

Makarov had to admit he was quite impressed at the agility used by the second to dodge the projectiles that made it past the former despite his obvious injuries.

"Master Makarov!"

Gray and Erza emerged from the shrubbery to face off the two males.

"Master! Stay away from those two!" Erza stated, coming to stand defensively in front of the small man, a sword now in hand. "The bandaged man especially, that's Salamander."

That little tidbit of information sent alarms ringing inside the Guild Master's. His initial pass off of the boy completely blown out of the water. It would certainly explain the ability shown moments ago however. He was ready to crush the boy himself, if need be. From all the records, he knew that this was a man not to be trifled with. He even had some reservations about letting Erza take his bounty. However, in regards to the mysterious dark mage, he couldn't help but recall an uncanny resemblance to something he'd heard long ago. Something he'd rather hope to just be a coincidence...

"Is he now..."

"Ahhhhhhh~. I see." Erigor chimed as he lazily walked over and bent down to pick up his scythe, leaving Lullaby in its resting place. With what looked like minimal effort, he heaved the heavy object, swinging it up and onto his shoulder. "You got saved by the Flies."

"So?"

"I never think the infamous Salamander would be so soft as to be saved by a couple of Flies~." Erigor sang, a dangerous glint now housed in his dark eyes. The tension between the two hanging thick in the air of the night. "Guess it's time for me to take out the trash after all."

Like a rope too taut, the tension audibly snapped as Salamander launched himself forwards, the simmering ground he stood on crumbling underfoot. Pure rage etched onto his face as he charged forward.

However, Erigor was ready, smiling sinisterly as he swung his namesake singlehandedly for the kill.

Makarov watched in mute interest as Salamander stopped mid-stride to reach out with his left arm and stop the scythe dead in its tracks much to the surprise of the wielder, the blade harmlessly behind his head. His right palm jetting across his body to slam into the cylindrical handle, causing the shaft to slip from the Shinigami's forearm and hammer into his ribcage. Erigor let out an audible grunt, his face contorted in a painful wince.

Salamander wasn't done there though. With a lightning fast reversal of grip so that his right arm was now underneath the handle, he slipped the handle up Erigor's side up and into the crook of his armpit. Salamander used the leverage, accompanied by a mighty battle cry, to lift the wind mage clean off his feet. The fire mage swung him with unhuman speed over his head and slammed Erigor flat on his back.

All who were present gaped in shock at the display of physical prowess, Master Makarov himself included. _"What could possibly allow him to push his body to this extent in this sort of condition?"_

"Get up." He said coldly, standing over the downed form of Erigor. "I haven't even begun to show you the difference between us."

Makarov saw Erza move to, what he could only assume as, subdue the two dark mages as Erigor reinitiated the fighting. "Erza." He said. The words halting the red headed knight in her tracks. "Leave them be."

"W-what?! Master you can't be serious! If a fight of this level happens in this town, j-just think of all the civilian losses-" However Makarov silenced her with the lift of a tiny hand, the two mages resuming their bout in the background.

"Oi. Oi." Gray added in tentatively, "I have to agree with her on this one Gramps...you can't be serious about those two letting loose here, can you? They're both monsters."

_"It must be done. I need to make sure." _Makarov closed his eyes_._ "I understand, but this is an order as your Guild Master. _Do not_ interfere in this fight. I need to make certain of something. I will take all responsibility for what happens from here on out."

The two teammates exchanged unnerved glances, but could do nothing but comply with the order. Erza looking the more disturbed off the two, most likely because she's felt useless but Makarov needed to push that out of his mind for now. He needed to solely focus the fight taking place before him. If his attention is even deviated for a second, he could very easily miss the traces he was looking for. The words passed down from the First to the Second, and from the Second to him refreshed themselves in his mind, as if it were some sort of unholy mantra.

_Drawn away from the Fairy's light_

_One man who burdens the whole world's plight_

_A young demon spewing dragon's fire_

_While the strings of fate, try to provoke his ire_

_Consumed by darkness he stands alone_

_Locked inside a world of his own_

_However light is kindled in his heart_

_Take careful heed not to tear it apart_

_Love's gentle tinder is all he needs_

_to set that light ablaze for all to see._

_"Mavis, please tell me...will the whole world really be on that man's shoulders?" _Makarov silently asked the wind, only hoping by some slim chance he could receive a miracle_. "I can only hope it is not yet the time for this world to be gambling with its fate." _Makarov could only watch and wait for any signs from the boy in the battle that ensued.

* * *

Natsu could really feel the fatigue and pain that built up in muscles now, some of his wounds even started to bleed again, but he knew the fight was only getting started. Besides for the physical pain, he still had plenty of magic and was itching to let loose. "What do you say Erigor, ready to get serious?" The Dragon Slayer questioned in menace. Pieces of his bandages floated aimlessly around them in the evening air, dancing like rose petals in the wind. They'd somehow managed to work their way away from the side of the Hall, and now were standing in a clearing just on the edge of Clover Town.

In front of him, Erigor stood panting parts of his sternum bruised and battered but none the less fine. His scythe lay in a pile at his feet, the blade broken into dozens of tiny pieces by the continuous onslaught of his fists blocked by the object. At this point Erigor was certainly more worn down over the duration of the fight than Natsu was, but in no way was the playing field level yet. Not even close.

"Don't get too cocky brat."Erigor spat, "Soon enough not even your flames won't be able to touch me, let alone your fists."

"Hah!" He laughed derisively, his face retaining its obvious anger, "I'd love to see that happen."

Natsu broke their deadlock and charged back into the fight, however Natsu noticed it looked as though Erigor was finally going to start using some spells. **"Storm Shred!" **Natsu was forced to break off from his head on charge and dart off to the side. Forcing his body to bend and flip at odd angles to dodge the nigh invisible flood of wind like blades under the moon's pale light. _"I can't find an opening!"_ He thought in frustration as his orbit prolonged.

Only a little to late did Natsu realize the trap laid for him, stepping onto a magic seal that flared into activation on his touch. **"Storm Bringer!"** Erigor called out maniacally. A tornado lifted up from under his feet, sucking him hundreds of feet into the air. Whipping him around in vicious circles, his motion sickness kicking in slightly. "Shit!"

He was suddenly flung outwards, heading directly towards the town at high speed. He adjusted his body, tearing through the roof of a building before landing on the ground with a large explosively burst of fire underfoot to adjust for his velocity. The stonework of the street cratering and cracking under the destructive power. Natsu looked around him at the scared and confused faces of those who peaked out of their house windows and few who lined the streets. The men, the women, the children wherever he went were always just scared of him! Did they just assume he was always a bad guy?! I mean he did crash through one of their roofs but still, just that look! He was so, sick and fucking tired of that look! He never asked to become a _monster_! _All's he wanted to fucking do was see Igneel again!_ _"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!" _He thought, in his rage flames started to lick his skin across his chest and arms burning away whatever little the bandages covered to reveal his marred body for all to see. This only added to the horror of those spectating the intruder.

"If you don't want to risk dying, leave!" He roared, however none dared move. "Leave! _NOW_!"

What was to follow could only be described as a full-on panic ensued. Hundreds of people flooded out of their homes and began running towards the outskirts of town. And above them the second fight approached, floating gently towards them. Natsu sprinted forward, jumped and latched onto a second story window of a building with arm before shifting his weight upwards, and vaulting towards the roof to latch on with the other. He charged up the slanted roof and jumped into the air. Boosters of flame burst forth from of his feet as he flew back over rooftop after rooftop towards Erigor. Fist cocked back he chanted, **"Karyuu no... Tekken (Fire Dragon's Iron Fist)!"** Throwing the punch forward it exploded violently against the wind wall Erigor put up to neutralize the attack, followed up by directing a powerful torrent at Natsu. Natsu fought against raging gales, flaring his boosters higher to true and power his way through but however high he pushed it Erigor somehow managed to match him.

_"Damn it!"_ He cursed to himself, realizing he was just wasting magic at this point. He let the winds taking him, carrying into a backflip before falling and tapping softly onto a roof. He grit his teeth in frustration. _"Why the hell can't I even get close to him now?"_

"Hahaha what's wrong Salamander," The tattooed man chided, "Finally noticed the differences in our abilities?"

"The hell are you talking about, my attacks have definitely had more power than yours."

The man glowered in irritation. "You really are stupid aren't you."

Natsu heatedly glared back, "Than what's your fuckin' point? Like I said early, d'you really think you got what it takes to kill me? You already failed once after giving it your best shot." Natsu said smirking devilishly, the air simmering around him as his anger bubbled up in remembrance of the cheap shot. "You won't get such a good opportunity again, you know."

However much to Natsu's surprise Erigor examined the scene around them briefly in thought, crossed his arms across his tattoo clad chest, and decided to ignore Natsu's goading.

"I have to admit, I did underestimate you. Time for me to get serious now brat. I can't be stuck around here forever. Not with all those guild master's around and no way to off them." Erigor crossed his arms over his chest, and brought up his legs as if he were in a crouch. Natsu could feel the air around him pull towards the man, flowing through the thick clumps of his blood caked hair and against his open wounds. **"Storm Mail!" **Voracious winds assimilated around his figure. Whipping wildly in a tight compact armor. Erigor's eyes glowed white with magic power, appearing through the winds as ominous orbs.

As soon as their eyes met, he found himself blown off the roof he stood on unexpectedly. Stumbling as he hit the ground, he struggled to regain his balance. Up righting himself in time to throw a fiery fist at the armor covered mage. Erigor didn't even bother trying to block. Upon impact the flame sizzled and flushed out of existence in a plume of smoke. _"What the-" _he thought before finding himself blown back yet again. Frustration began to eat away at Natsu which he could tell he exuded on his face.

" It wasn't too hard to figure out that most of your destructive power comes from your flames... fine, let me put it to you straight and simple." Erigor said sadistically, as he came down to face him on the street. "Flame can't go against headwind. Meaning that fire simply cannot defeat wind."

"Tch." Natsu scoffed. "Guess I'll have to just crank up the heat a little more." Fire exploded around his body much like back at Oshibana, scorching the stone where he stood. A nearby house unlucky enough to get caught in the initial flare catching alight as the flame came to equilibrium around his body. "Let's go Erigor!" He bellowed as he headed in first yet again, flame trailing behind him-his whole body alight.

Before Erigor even had a chance to blow him back, Natsu pounded the man with punch after thunderous punch as his battle cry echoed. He could feel his hands being torn apart by the rapid torrent but he still continued the barrage. The sparks and embers of flame dancing high in the night air, illuminating the world around them beautifully.

However, Erigor was seemingly unphased through his guard tried blowing him back again. Natsu lost his foot and felt himself being lifted off the ground, his legs trailing behind his chest and his arms spread wide for balance.

_"Not this time you little shit!" Natsu thought._

**"Karyuu no Enchuu (Fire Dragon's Flame Elbow)..."** Massive pillars of fire burst forth from Natsu's elbows, blowing his upper body back towards the other dark mage. **"to Karyuu no Yokugeki (Fire Dragon's Wing Attack)!"**

Planting his lead foot down onto the ground while lowering his torso, the flames that burst forth from his elbow assimilated to his forearm turning into tendrils of fire that came raining down on Erigor in sync with the motion of his arms. The entire area was blown apart by the force from the attack and the ambient temperature skyrocketed. Multiple houses and stores on either side of the street from the explosion were heavily damaged by the concussive blast alone if not hit by the flurry of stone shrapnel blown awry or even lit ablaze. A heavy cloud of smoke shrouding the point of impact. The smoke thinned to show Erigor had been blown back. Skid marks etched into the stone before him. Natsu smirked to himself. The armor had _thinned_. He relished at the look of fear that the Shinigami wore as his face receded from view, back behind the veil of winds.

Erigor came at him this time. Delivering a powerful straight kick into the stomach of his adversary, **"Karyuu no Kagitsume (Fire Dragon's Talons)!" **The winds morphed and buckled under the pressure from the fiery kick but did no more. Panic ran through his system when his leg just felt heavy all of a sudden. _"I can't be too tired yet! Move dammit!"_

"Bad move Salamander."

Natsu grit his teeth in pain as Erigor wrapped a wind clad hand around his already lacerated ankle. Erigor whipped him around like a rag doll and tossed him clean through the stone wall of a house. _"Oh Shi-!"_

He went through one house, two houses, three houses-His vision went black.

Natsu opened his eyes to spinning panel wood floors. His body felt heavy yet again, the high of his adrenaline finally wearing off. If his ribs weren't broken before they certainly would be now. _"I guess it all finally catching up with me. Willpower can only get you so far."_ Most of wounds had reopened despite some level of cauterization during some part of the fight. Warm, thick crimson blood pooled thinly between his chest and the floor. He forced himself to stand on unstable legs. He moved walked forwards, leaning against the new entrance his made to the room with one arm. He shifted his gaze up from the ground to see a wind clad Erigor standing through the holes he'd made two houses away.

"You put up a good fight Salamander, but this was a fight you were destined to lose." Raising his two hands, he made a cross fingered sign all too familiar to the Dragon Slayer.

**"Emera Baram."**

Unable to react to the high-speed winds, much less move Natsu could only stand there and watch his impending death.

_"Like hell I will!" He thought in rage. THIS was certainly not where he was going to die. He definitely wouldn't allow it. _Natsu reached down deep inside his wounded body to find his magic. Summoning as much as he could to his burning lungs he bellowed,

**"Karyuu no HOUKOU (Fire Dragon's ROAR)!"**

The massive torrent of fire blast forth. The two attacks colliding. The resulting explosion nearly leveled the entire neighborhood as a great white light consumed the area.

When Natsu opened his eyes yet again, everything swam like before. The world around him was covered in flame and rubble. He felt an oppressive weight on his lower back and legs. His eyes blurred he was blacking out again. He could feel the telltale signs of blood loss. The world around him started to recede from view.

_"No, Get Up!"_

_"You dare kill us for your cause and then you lose, to someone as weak as Erigor no less?"_

_"GET UP!"_

_"You put up a good fight Salamander, but this was a fight you were destined to lose."_

_"lose."_

_"Lose."_

_"GET THE FUCK UP!"_

_"Accept my power boy."_

Hahaha...Hahahahahahah...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!

* * *

**Please review and follow for more!**


	4. Chapter 4

Erigor felt the sharp pinch of rubble digging into his knees as he coughed the airborn dirt from his lungs. He couldn't bring himself to care at the moment though. The Shinigami just stared down at the reddened skin of his shaking arms in the dim light of flame as his coughing fit subsided. The blistering pain of his light burns coursing throughout the entirety of his front. **Storm Mail** had all been but blown away in the wake of the final collision of magic, allowing him to be consumed in a sea of heat and wind.

The wind mage slowly rolled his muscular shoulder, relishing in the tiny cracks and pops as the joint readjusted its location in the socket. Taking slight notice of the numb bruising signifying muscular tears. He had been blown into a light lachrima post and bulleted through a brick wall into the collapsing form of a burning two story house. Luckily enough for him the mangled metal pole managed to support a part of the structure enough so that he wasn't crushed to death in his tumble. He was glad his master wasn't there to see the pitiful state a fire user had managed to put him in.

Erigor slowly crawled out from his crevice and surveyed the aftermath. Erigor gasped and marveled at the destruction around him. Like a downed forest, all the tallest structures surrounding them had been severely damaged if not practically downed. He was practically standing in a swamp of stone, wood, and flame. A heavy haze of dirt and smoke filled the air. His ears could faintly hear the annoyingly noisy commotion that his previous targets were making back at their meeting hall.

_"My biggest concern right now is if Salamander survived that...I don't think I can afford to be here much longer if I wish to escape...can't having him tie me up any longer. I've also used a good bit of magic today..." _Erigor thought hastily as he stumbled away from the house. No matter how at ease he told himself he felt, something just wasn't _right_. _"Still what was...__that.__" _

In the moments before Salamander's last attack Erigor felt like he got a fleeing glimpse at something he shouldn't have seen. As if mustering up that power brought up something else along with it. Something so dark and undeniably evil he had to even question if it was something he actually felt at all or if he was just losing his mind. Something so vile and sinister that he had to question whether even the infamous _Salamander_ was capabable of releasing an aura like that. That chilling sensation of bloodlust so strong that it felt like it could rip him limb from limb just from that little espy. The eerie silence and heavy ambience didn't sit well with him either.

However, no matter how much he told himself that Salamander was defeated and that sensation he had earlier was just a fluke. His uneasiness would just not go away, like he could sense that something unbelievably big was about to happen. A knot slowly formed its way in the pit of his stomach.

"Stop there Shinigami Erigor." A familiar feminine voice called out from behind to him.

"Ah fuck..." Erigor cursed under his breath as he turned to face the newcomers, "Seems like I've overstayed my welcome."

_"Damn it I must've lost track of time thinking! Now I have to deal with these damn flies!"_ He thought hastily while looking for a means to escape.

"Can it asshole. We're taking you and your pink haired boyfriend in. Let's go." He heard the, yet again, shirtless one says. "Even if we have to force you."

_"Hahahaha."_

Erigor felt his whole body tense reflexively at the chilling laugh. A shiver running up his spine and a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. His body starting to instinctively fill with an emotion almost completely alien to the white haired man. _Fear. He felt like he knew exactly why too. Although ever so subtle...it was back. Like the sensation of someone staring at you that just prickles at the back of your consciousness._

"What's so funny yah windy bastard?!" The male questioned furiously. He noticed the red head looked more apprehensive, her eyes widening before narrowing sternly, and shifted her guard. Could she feel the same thing he did? The shirtless man clenched his fists in anger, at what Erigor could only assume was his question unanswered, but a quick change in the male's demeanor signified he seemed to pick up the faint power as well.

All the Shinigami could muster himself to do was shake his head slowly. The childish instict that if he moved very slowly the monster in the dark wouldn't notice him taking over. Slowly rotating his body mechanically so he now looked over his shoulder towards the direction the muffled laugh came from. Somewhere behind him to his left.

_"Hahahahahhahahaha!"_

The evening temperature around them slowly started to increase. The rubble of a collapsed building about twenty meters away began to glow a heated red. It visibily vibrated and pulsed with ample frequency. The air around it simmering with mirage. The rubble shifted once, twice, a third time before stilling and the temperature ceasing to climb. A blistering heat still enveloping the medium around them.

The three mages watched in avid attention. Seemingly frozen in time as they watched. None moved.

_"HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAH!"_

Suddenly the flood gates burst and the air grew oppressively heavy. Erigor found himself nearly falling to his knees as he fought against the pressure. A dark menacing aura like none other came radiating forth from the collapsed building. A pillar of brilliant orange fire exploded into the heavens. The stone and surrounding material blown apart in a messy liquified state. The molten liquid radiating outwards like a briny spray. Erigor felt as if his skin was about to melt off just from being in the near vicinity of the heat. The expanse of power began to shake the earth violently, loose debris all around them began levitating and vibrating with an even more incredible frequency than before.

"W-what the hell...?!" He cursed in revulsion.

"Gray! Get us a shield!" He heard the knight command her comrade, the change in volume of her voice indicating she turned towards him. "Gray?! What's wrong?!"

Erigor rotated back to see Gray on all fours. Shivering in fear like a newborn pup. His eyes wide and teeth clenched. He grabbed uselessly at the stone beneath him. His fingers pressed white as he grated them into fists. Like trying to exorcise his head of some kind of nightmare Gray began to continuously shake his head back and forth wildly.

"Gray snap out of- Aghhh!" The woman screamed out, falling to a knee, as a large glob of the molten liquid landed on the gauntlet covering her arm. The metal letting of a malicious hiss before it disappeared in a dance of golden particles. Erigor could feel the pain of some from the spray and the ferociously hot gales stinging his body, but he knew he didn't have the time to be worrying about that right now.

Erigor turned back to the fire storm, watching in horror as Salamander's hunched over form raised to his feet. The teen leaning back, arms spread wide as his cackles continued to resound throughout the night air. The foul dark power growing stronger and stronger by the passing second. The flame's color wavering between the boy's infernal rustic flame and an ethereal white farther up the pillar. Illuminating the sky in an ironically divine light.

Out of nowhere_...the hideous laughter stopped. _In a few seconds the fire died down as well. Whatever hadn't been completely destroyed in the mass of energy started to drop back down to earth. Salamander stood hunched over all by his lonesome in the middle of scorched and reddened earth, ash, and melted stone. If whatever _that_ was could even be _considered_ Salamander.

"No way..." He heard the Knight gasp in fear behind him. World shattering disbelief in her voice.

_"W-what the hell is that?!" _Erigor again futilely tried to comprehend the situation. His mind ran a thousand miles a minute. _"T-this isn't how things were supposed to go at all, damn it! Is this some kind of nightmare?!"_

He was supposed to smoothly receive Lullaby.

He was supposed to have one of the most infamous mages in the country as his ally.

He was supposed to have killed the guild masters for all the injustices done to them!

Things weren't supposed to be this way.

So why the fuck was he now here faced with this monster?! This _god forsaken demon!_

Erigor watched in frozen terror as the pink haired teen's body steamed. His wounds were closed up and healed as if they hadn't even been there in the first place. Almost the entirety of the upper left side of his body was consumed in some sort of black shadowy aura. The black haze extended from around his now terrifying red iris down across his face, shoulder and torso. His left arm was now looking more beast-like, his fingers elongating and sharpening into blade like claws. His pink hair had even been invaded by the shadowy wisps. The only this that seemed somewhat comforting was the golden tetra patterned palisade that radiated luminously along the border of the dark mass. A crazed grin and a wide set of mismatched eyes turned to lock with Erigor's.

Reflexively Erigor quickly raised a shaking hand to try and do something to the beast in front of him, but to his confusion he now found himself pointing at the ground. He was staring at it too? He felt a lot of liquid fill up his mouth. He opened it, but to his surprise heaves of crimson blood spattered out onto the rubble covered earth below him. Jagged edges of stone and splintered wood now doused in a horrid crimson.

_"Huh?" _He thought.

Then he felt it. The white-hot pain that was screaming through his nerves in his abdomen. He shakily turned his head downward and to the left as more blood leaked from his lips. A red and onyx iris met yet again with his. The wind mage's view shifted lower and he saw with mute horror the blackened arm that was shoved square through his stomach.

_"N-no way, I never even saw him move...I never-"_

**_"Erigor!"_** Someone shrieked.

Erigor raged desperately against the darkness that encroached his vision. His mind wouldn't even assemble a rational thought. It just raced through all of his memories in incoherent strains. Delineating from their normal order. Then it simply flashed into nothingness, and that was all she wrote.

* * *

_Several Minutes Earlier._

Makarov gaped in unmitigated horror from where the guild masters had gathered. He had felt small traces of..._this _during the fight as it appeared ever so subtly below the rage burning in his flames. However, Makarov hadn't anticipated even in his wildest dreams about this sort of full on release. The earth and the air even seemed to tremble in fear. Waves upon waves of malice, hatred, and rage rolled progressively from the new clearing forged into the center of Clover Town. A shrill maniacal cackle covered the gap all the same as the unbearably dark aura seeped into the very flesh and blood of every soul witnessing the event. The massive pillar of flame marking the source and illuminating the night sky for all to see.

"W-what on Earthland...?!" Makarov questioned in shock as he weighed his options below the warring trains of thought. Despite already knowing the truth, seeing it for another thing was beyond credence. The horrified din of his colleagues not doing much to sooth his worries. "_A being on this level is not something my children will be able to defeat._ _I'm certain Gray remembers this aura, I'm sure he'll be able to tell and hopefully act more tactfully, but I'm worried about Erza. She'll most likely still see that thing as Salamander. The only option it seems is for me to go subdue the demon myself... Jose picked a bad meeting to miss being present from..." _Makarov took a second to take measure of the scale of power surging forth_."...If that boy isn't able to find some sort of restraint against himself and allows that power to continue to grow, not even I will be able to settle things without getting messy."_

To make matters worse Makarov felt that another dark presence decided to make its appearance. _"Things are surely getting too chaotic for my liking."_

"It can't be!" The coarse multi-chorused voice seemed to bray out into the night. A faint purple glow betraying the voice's origin hiding in the grass. "This power! It can't possibly be?! None other like it should exist! Could it be that the Gates of Hell have already been reopened?"

The three eyed skull of Lullaby began to glow powerfully before the ominous purple light enveloped its entire frame. It began to morph stretch and grow at a rapid pace inside another massive tower of light until a monstrous horned mass of wood loomed over them. The wooden monster was so large it even towered over the surrounding mountains. It completely ignored the humans scrambling at its feet to focus its attention on the center of Clover.

"How many years has it been since I've last been awake?! 100?! No, 200 years?!"

"Hmmmmm. What's this demon rambling about?" In the midst of chaos Makarov turned to the voice of disinterest that chimed underneath the large demon's incoherent babble. "Seems as though we can't rely on the young ones anymore tonight, can we?"

"That would be for the best." He replied curtly, quickly glancing at the raging flames that split the sky.

"Well I would probably want to get a handle on that one over there. Don't want that much power on the loose for to long. I'll tidy up things over here, you go put that thing down." Goldmine replied with a sigh. "Although we're getting to old for this Mak. Why couldn't things have been as hot blooded when we were younger?"

"Indeed, but -" However before Makarov was able to finish, he was cut off.

"Awwwwww come on Goldy." Master Bob caroused as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "You know that this just makes your youthful blood boil. Besides, you can't tell me you were about to take all the juicy bits over here for yourself, were you?"

"And if I was?"

"Well you know how angry I'd be." An odd sinister aura forming around the merry man as he butted heads with the other Guild Master.

The roar of an engine suddenly came into earshot, separating the two, and moments later the magic four-wheeler exploded through the tree line bringing with it streaks of dirt and shrubbery as they clung to the tires. It flew past the wooden monstrosity and blared its horn in warning to all of those in its path. The vehicle slammed to a stop in front of the trio, hiking up slightly on its front two tires as it came to a halt.

"Master Makarov!" The familiar blonde chirped as she regained her composure at the vehicle's helm. Exhaustion written all over her face. "What's going on?! What happened to Erza and Gray?! Salamander?!"

The sudden disappearance of the ethereal light gained the crowd's alarmed attention, even Lullaby.

"Pitiful humans! I am not fully aware of the events that have happened thus far, but even the likes of I can tell many souls are about to fall to hell!" Lullaby proclaimed zealously as it took one massive earth rattling step forward, it's beady purple eyes still locked on the epicenter of Clover. "It seems that a demon is about to be born before our very eyes on this land! Yes, even one more powerful than myself!"

"More powerful then...Lullaby?" Lucy questioned with evidence of fear laced in her shaking voice. "W-what's more powerful than a curse of... death?"

"Erza and Gray are down there. Details can come later, It's urgent we-" Makarov began through solemn half lidded eyes.

**_"Erigor!" _**The shrill shriek cut through the night air.

"Erza?!" Lucy questioned in horror.

With a look of alarm and no further drabble the Master of Fairy Tail hopped onto the four-wheeler, and the buxom blonde took off immediately.

"What happened with Salamander and Erigor?" Lucy questioned as the duo began their rampage across the expanse that separated themselves and what she could only imagine as absolute horror. Each rapid jolt of the suspension seeming to resonate with the quaking fear that ever so slightly shook her. Makarov had to commend her for the brave front that she was putting up.

"Salamander had fought Erigor. He had seemingly fought to a standstill. The rest I'm still trying to figure out for myself. Please...Lucy, once you get Gray and Erza... Leave."

The vehicle lost speed ever so slightly as she reeled back in protest, her brown orbs staring in a vehement defiance. "No Master! I refuse! I'm tired of not being able to do anything! I need to show-"

"This is an **_order_**!" Makarov boomed cutting her off, their speed faltering even more. "No matter what you do, something of this caliber is simply too much for the three of you to handle...I don't wish to see any more of my children pass before I do. So, please my child, stay out of this fight. There's nothing wrong with being afraid."

Lucy gazed uncertainly into the old man's eyes, biting tenderly on her lower lip. He could see her intent to protest, but also the fear she so desperately pushed to the back of her mind. The corona of emotion revolving uselessly in its own obscure densities.

"...If not for me then for your own safety. I'm sure you felt that level of magic power..."

The newest addition to Fairy Tail didn't mutter another sound as she slowed the vehicle to a complete stop. Their destination having been practically met. The sounds of combat filtering through the murky ash and smoke-filled environment. Makarov noticed the ground cast stare she gave. Her shadow banged face hardly hiding the tears of frustration that dripped down her fair cheeks. "I'm sorry Master...I'm so scared I can't control myself...I-I'm so ashamed."

"Fear no more child." The elderly man said soothingly. A vein bulging from his head as he stepped off, a warm magic power beginning to radiate off of him. "I will end this soon enough. You children have done wonderfully! It is much too soon for you to bear the sins of the past!"

_"I only hope that it's not too late, my children! Please wait for me! Erza! Gray!" With his resolve set, the Master of Fairy Tail was now ready for battle._

* * *

**_"Erigor!" _**Erza shrieked louded then she had ever before. Her vocal chords strained with the sudden harsh vibration.

Before her very eyes the Ace of Eisenwald, A questionable S-Class mage, had been impaled, no _damn near cleaved in half_ like it was child's play...as his body rested limply on top of...of...

Words had just completely failed her at this point.

"I have to be dreaming. Things just aren't making enough sense anymore..." She rationalized with herself as the godless being before her lowered its arm, allowing the body to slide of the bestial black arm with a stomach curling visceral splurch.

"Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," Salamander, well _it_, growled throatily. The feral look that engrossed his entire face remained intact. It turned to look at the red-haired knight. His, or whatever the hell this was, soulless eyes peered into her. A semblance of emotion barely even left in the one untouched eye. Instead replaced by a killing intent so strong it blew that feeling she got at Oshibana out of the water. She had no idea what had happened to Salamander but she knew what stood a being of pure and utter desolation.

_"W-what is this man...?"_

_"Wait...is he even __**human**__?"_

**"Kanso!(Re-quip!)"**

In a near instant her bloodied and ashen blotched blouse and blue skirt was replaced. Her eyes widened in fear as she pushed her two rapier-esque swords out in front of her to block the regularly almost impossibly fast strike from a blacked arm. The flat hand smashed into the crossed over swords at lightning speed. She felt the metal strain as its durability was tested. Its strong steel giving off a pained clang.

Overwhelmed by the blow, Erza was buffeted backwards. The abundant debris gave little room for clear purchase. Losing her balance, Erza stumbled backwards, rolling over the sharp debris and adding a couple more cuts to the collection over her scantily clad body as she grunted in pain. Only her breasts were covered by a leather cheetah-print breastplate. Discarding any sort of waist guard for a pair of tight black shorts with a bushy fox tail and belt that held an olive cloth over her left leg. A pair of now ripped blue stockings, silver metal shin guards, a hair band with cheetah ears, and a pair of tan combat boots covered the rest.

**"Hishou no Yoroi (Flight Armor)." **The redhead breathed out with a pinched eye. Even with the massive speed boost she still could only see him clearly when he begins to accelerate and when he decelerates slightly for the attack. Although compared to before it gives her a much more room for reaction times. However, if at any point in between it moves out of her field of vision it could be dangerously lethal for her. The knight's eyes flickered to her comrade out of the corner of her eye. From what she could gather, he was still shaken up about _something_. She needed to keep this thing away from him...or else Gray wasn't going home...or else neither of them were going home...she just needed to wait until...well until something happened!

The next moment the knight was back on her feet, pushing off the ground with her hands and easily planting her feet back down on an exposed patch of roadwork.

Salamander was staring at her with feral curiosity, cocking his head to the side in animalistic fashion. His blood-stained arm dripping relentlessly.

_'Damn it! Gray could patch Erigor up temporarily if only he wasn't in that state...or if I could even talk to him without drawing attention to him!' She clenched the swords in her_ grip,_ yet again crushing the fear held in her heart in a vice grip of resolve for the surely suicidal thing she was about to do. 'If we stand any chance of surviving this...I need to control this fight!"_

Erza burst forth and swung her left sword with a beast like intensity of her own. The slightly hunched being raised its hand with graceful simplicity and caught the weapon by its blade, trapped between its palm and thumb. Wasting no time in afterthought she swung the sword in her right hand that she had trailing behind in a downwards arc before it swung back up in a vicious uppercut attempting to severe the blood-stained appendage at a point above the elbow. Seeing the blurred image of his other arm and his rotating hips in her periphery she brought her shoulder down into the uppercut, leaned to the left, and rotated her body so that her back now faced him. She felt the altered course of her strike hit his wrist, slicing clean through the joint, as the flat form of his regular hand exploded past her head. The appendage taking with it some of her crimson hair in a powerful gust of air that punched a cylinder clean through the smoky ambience all around them before it was quickly filled in again. The scarlet strands dancing beautifully to the ground in the murky moonlit air.

The knight, feeling her confidence build slightly, now using the momentum of her rotation to swing both of her now freed blades in a powerful two pronged attacked. "Huuuuuahhhhhh!" She bellowed as she swung towards the sinister unprotected flesh of his left side.

However, to her surprise she was met with a steel like resistance instead of the soft viscera below Salamander's muscular build. Instead of passing clean through like with the wrist, the shadowy aura had actually managed to stop both of her blades. Much more to her concern, she sensed the beast was about to rain a blow down on her. Pushing backwards fiercely, she rolled backwards over more sharp debris as she skids to a halt by stabbing her swords into the ground. The carnage of debris all around her putting countless nicks into the fine steel. The ground rumbling beneath her feet and plume of smoke gave her a very bad feeling.

She looked in aghast at the raw destruction the single punch had done.

The beast now stood in its own circular crater seven or so meters deep. To Erza's horror the beast stood up, removing its fist from the dirt, and rolled its wrist. The blacked claw flexed and strained, testing the limits its master put it through. Each sharped finger spread out wide as if they longed to pierce and slash the very sky they faced. This was the same abomination she had cut off _only seconds ago_.

_'Impossible!' The knight thought as she cooly let out a steady breath, 'Regeneration is black magic! Not only that, but even monsters that can regenerate can't do it instantaneously!"_

The beast clenched its fist tightly and squared up to her again. It had a wide spread stance, with its head craned upwards slightly, and stared menacingly at her with beady eyes. It was leaning backwards slightly; the overtaken section of Salamander's body being protected by the golden levy was held slack. Its right arm dangly at its side. The stance was certainly sloppy and was easily vulnerable to many openings, but with the thing's speed and reaction time Erza was having a hard time deciding which pattern of attack was the best option. Instead of simply thinking three or four moves ahead like she normally tried to do, this was an opponent that she probably wanted to be eight to ten against. The shadowy wisps swaying gently in tune to the gentle breeze, much like the scarlet strands of her hair. Defeat hung in the air like a pressing weight. Although it was bearable for now, eventually her already strained stamina would run out and she would be crushed.

_'So this is what it feels like to fight a losing battle? I thought I was long past this...'_

A gust of wind slowly circled around the knight, picking up the loose particles of ash and dirt that hung in the air around them in its swirl. The beastial grin of the monster before her fell at the surge of power that invigorated the woman. The being cocked its head to the side once again, curious at the actions of its adversary.

Bursting into the crater the scarlet haired women used the acceleration of gravity and the circle of the crater to swing around the possessed Salamander's rear and once again deliver a forceful blow to Salamander's side, this time to the real unprotected flesh of his right side.

However as expected it reached out and grabbed the swords with its blackened claw. The being looked slightly mesmerized as golden particles filled its field of view, flaring violently in contrast to the night. Erza pushed inside the being's reach, her swords now gone and replaced with another. A large sword with a thin purple and silver hilt, and a near nonexistent guard that traced its way up the long blade. The infamous blade from her **Kureha no Yoroi (Black Wing Armor)** set.

She sliced upwards cleaving clean through the blacked arm, separating the limb by the shoulder, a spray of crimson surprising her before she continued with her motion swinging around with catastrophic force in an attempt to decapitate the being.

As expected from the knight though the being reached up and gripped the sword bare handed with its right hand. The massive blade stopping dead in its tracks. The massive amount of momentum seemingly disappearing beneath the might of a mountain. In that very same instant, she noticed the demonic presence didn't even seem so much as phased at the loss of limb, despite the massive amounts of blood that sprayed, leaked, and splattered out onto the ground beneath it from inside the mass of shadow.

_'It seems as though the more damage is done the longer it takes to regenerate...Also why did it penetrate the skin?'_ The knight noticed what she hadn't the first time she severed a limb. The shadowy wisps ate away at the dismembered limb until it was no more._ "Whatever it is doesn't seem to have taken full possession of Salamander, or maybe it's just that Salamander doesn't have full control of its power yet. This must've been some sort of trump card. Some insane trump card. In that case-'_

The blade began to crack under the pressure of the beast's grip, forming spider web cracks in the hard-forged steel. Erza quickly switched back to the sword set from her **Hishou no Yoroi(Flight Armor)**.

Erza began a furious onslaught of slices with the lightweight blades. The knight sliced in a diagonal x-fashion across Salamander's chest. The blades drawing blood along the segments of his tanned flesh that they traced across. The blackened skin resisted with the steel like resistance, she felt a strange momentary pull of extraordinary gravity, before slicing across in a torrential spin this time both blades cutting clean across Salamander's abdomen, blackened section and all.

She successfully predicted the punch that the beast threw with it's good arm, the arm in which she severed regenerated up unto the elbow. Ducking under it with a well timed lean. She weaved her body and stabbed into the shadowy flesh of his left shoulder. Erza used the sword as a springboard as she jumped and flipped over behind Salamander. Allowing the sword to tear a deep gash straight through his shoulder.

Erza was surprised at the sudden pull on her tail when she landed. Next thing she knew she was hurdling through the air after the sound of tearing fabric. She landed roughly against the upper wall of the crater, sliding slightly down the steep wall before she briefly stopped herself with a sword.

Her eyes quickly snapped to Salamander. He held her leopard's tail in one hand, pieces of black pants fabric still attached to the end of the object, as he stared at the ground beneath him. His eyes flickered from the item of clothing and the ground.

_'Did he just ...throw me?' _She questioned her own senses in astonishment. Then it clicked._ 'With so much force that it tore my armor...you've got to be kidding me. It wasn't going to be a throw!'_ She didn't even want to imagine the damage her body would've taken if the tail hadn't ripped.

His eyes darted up towards her. The knight instinctually, whether by fear or experience she couldn't tell, threw herself out of the hole. However she realized the mistake of taking her eyes off of the foul creature a second too late.

She frantically looked around once she landed, but a tremendous weight settled itself upon her back.

"Nnnngggaaaahhhh!" She cried out in pain. Her ribcage and sternum felt like they were about to burst under the force Salamander's foot pushed her down with. Her brown eyes felt as if they would pop out of their sockets at any moment. Her spike creaking underneath the protection her magic provided. The very ground around them shimmered with pain. _'Fuck!' _

"Hahahahaha!" The inhumanely grotesque creature cackled. "Huuuu...man." The being rasped out.

Erza turned her head to the side to stare in shock._ 'Did it actually just speak? Or is the pain messing with my rationality?'_

"Mem-or-ies" The beast asked almost sensitively, it's foot bearing down with the strength of a giant. "Dra-gon?"...However the being's face quickly contorted in rage. It's left hand coming up to grip its face tightly. More of the dark matter continuing to encroach Salamander's body. The golden aura trim around the darkness flaring even brighter in the night. "He...did-this!"

To Erza's fear a familiar burning sensation began tingling on exposed flesh of her back. Her confusion for the situation building in tandem. A lone orange flame began to simmer in Salamander's right hand.

_'N-no way! It can still use magic?!...It was just toying with me?!' _The Knight thought as she watched the flame grow bigger. Its burning radiance sweltering and not even slightly hampered by the air's condition. Erza pushed with all of her might, the ground cracking slightly under her grip from the pressure, but Salamander's leg wouldn't give an inch. _'All of you...please forgive me, I guess this was my final test to prove my readiness, but I've failed.' _

Erza was surprised by the sudden spike in magic power. Not blistering and infernal, but warm and familiar. The area's air pollutants were blown away with a massive burst of power, revealing the ironically imposing figure of Fairy Tail's Master.

His stoic faced betrayed by the vast sea of magic power he began to release. Storm clouds gathered and blotted the moonlit sky, allowing only for the illumination from the hellfire that teetered around them. Casting a setting that one would expect only in the depths of hell to appear around them. The ground trembled and small loose debris began to levitate once again under the incredible pressure. He stood there solemnly resolute.

"I'm sorry it took so long, Erza. I'm sorry my indecision has caused you this much harm. Rest easy now. I will take care of everything from here on out." Master Makarov said in confidence. His voice was soft, but you could hear the power in which it held.

"M-Master." She sighed in relief as the pressure on her back decreased. The being freezing in place as it seemed to take measure of the immense presence. _'It seems all will end now...Master isn't one of the Ten Wizard Saints for nothing. Although Salamander's power has certainly been above mine so far, Master's power is still far beyond even that.' _However the seeds of doubt continued to root in her mind. Something told her that what she thought wasn't necessarily true.

Erza couldn't believe her eyes as instead of becoming the least bit intimidated it took two steps forward towards Makarov. Each standing on their own side of the crater. Erza felt an smothering weight bear down as a titanic, although fluctuating, power unlike any other she'd ever felt erupted from Salamander. She could feel Salamander's magic power, but it seemed to mix homogenously with another vast power. It didn't seem to even want to pay the slightest bit of attention to it's previous plaything.

_'Don't look down on me you fucking scum!'_

Her body moving in a forceful frenzied mix of fret and anger as she summoned one of her Heart Kruez swords against the conflicting tides of power. She was completely unaware of the weight that her own actions bore, much less the consequences at this moment in her mind. She was acting purely on an emotional impulse. She thrust the blade forward looking to stab Salamander clean through his heart from behind. To her surprise the tip of the blade buckled harshly on contact, bending inwards on itself. The blade snapped in half.

The blade itself imbedded into the ground. Erza stood there for several seconds, staring in shock at the loose blade.

_'Those feelings that I got earlier, the reason that my blades couldn't cut him, these fluctuations...this was it isn't it! Is there really that big of a difference between us?!' _

Salamander still didn't even seem to acknowledge what had happened as he kept his eyes locked with her master, who also seemed to be in the same state.

She couldn't understand. She had come so far. Yet why did she still feel this way? Why did she turn and run? On this scale of power, she was no more then she was 10 years ago. This frustration. This _fear_. Those of which she tried to keep locked away for the longest time.

She couldn't contain all this pent up emotion inside her locked away heart any longer. At this moment they all spilled out like an unstoppable flood. This burden was slowly but surely eating away at her. Yet, what could she do? She was only one girl with the lives of her friends in her hands. What did she even expect herself to be able to do? Was this something she could even do? Were all of these years of conviction simply bravado? Is she even one capable of saving her friend's lives?

As if the heaven's themselves wanted to know the answer to the questions her mind plagued itself with within that instant. In that moment a voice rang out.

"AHHHHHHH_HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH__**HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH**_!"

Erza stopped in her tracks only several steps as a third magical energy appeared in the frictional air as the powerhouses had their standoff.

_'Gray?' _Her thoughts froze at the sound of her friend's increasingly shrill cry that resounded from the blue shroud of mist and magic aura that sprouted up from his location from her left. The magic power dwarfed by the two colossi.

Oh gods. How could she have forgotten about Gray? Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, no, no, _no, no, no! _

"YOU! YOU WHAT ARE YOU?!" Gray bellowed hysterically, his eyes wide in fear. What surprised Erza the most were the tears that he allowed to fall freely. "WHY THE FUCK DO YOU FEEL SO MUCH LIKE THAT DAMNED DEMON?! HUH?! WHAT RELATION DO YOU HAVE TO DELIORA?!"

Only the whispers of the wind answered his calls.

"ANNNNNNNSWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWEEERRRRRRRRR MEEEEE! SALAMANDER! WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU GET THAT POWER?!" He continued to interrogate, with yet again no response from the occupied man. "ARE YOU ONE OF THEM?!"

"YOU ARE AREN'T YOU?! I'M NOT LETTING WHAT HAPPENED 10 YEARS AGO HAPPEN AGAIN!"

Gray hastily whipped his arms around to cross over in an x formation. His right hand over top and palm faced down and his left swinging around vice versa. The chill of artic winds slurring across the battlefield as Gray continued to power himself up. The light of the flames began to glint off the powdered snow that started forming around his aura's edge.

"RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" He screamed in vain. "THIS IS YOUR END."

Never before had she seen a look of such intense hatred upon her friends face...

_'What's happened to you...Gray?'_

Makarov was the first to break the dead lock as he whipped his head towards Erza. "Erza, you must stop him! That technique cannot be used!"

In that same instant Salamander made his move. But, in a startling fast movement for his age, Master Makarov's fist enlarged several times on itself and slammed the blurred image of the beast down into the center of the crater forming a nice body sized niche into the bottom of the crevice. In which he just simply hopped out and changed forwards again.

_'Luckily I can still hold this form.' _With an ease of task not found in her earlier trials and a fair amount of grace, she deftly maneuvered around to the side where Gray was in mere seconds. Her comrade seemed completely oblivious to her approach, his cold angry eyes focused only on the area of the Dark Mage. Salamander was still brawling it out with Master Makarov, hardly getting inside the older man's defensive line each time it charged forwards. His movements starting to get slower each time, becoming more robotic and static, but somehow still maintaining a great deal of strength. A frost like pattern encroaching over his body.

_'Sorry about this Gray! This is going to hurt later!'_

**"ICED SH-"**

With a strong left punch Erza's fist slammed into the Ice-Make mage's cheek. The poor guy was down before he hit the ground. His body slightly twitching as it rested unevenly atop destruction.

She glanced over the vicinity for the other person that came to her mind. Her eyes found the pale body of Erigor in the same spot she remembered. Surrounded by a large, stagnant puddle of his own blood. He lay unmoving, not even the slight murmur of his breathing...not that she even expected it at this point. After all that kind of wound needed immediate care...with the situation there was nothing she could've done about it...

_'Damn it...' _

"Erza!" The voice snapped the redhead back to reality. She looked over to see Lucy sitting in the magic four-wheeler as it settled on top of part of a downed stone house. "Come on, grab Gray! We should get out of Master's way!

The redhead eyes lingered on the dead man.

The blonde gasped. "...Oh that's not what I meant...we can come back later and give him a proper burial..."

"Yeah...we will." She replied softly, hoisting her comrades arm over her shoulder. An explosion and flare of heat rocked the landscape behind them. Not bothering to even turn around Erza simply stated. "Master, I believe in you."

* * *

Master Makarov glared down into the flame filled bowl that the demolished land became.

"So you're finally done playing?" The elderly man prodded to the face of madness. "Good, I was getting tired of humoring you."

With a low rumbling growl the avid beast threw a flame covered right forwards, swishing through the air with a fell swoop. Makarov was caught slightly off guard at the volume, pressure, and heat of flame that swarmed him in the wake of yet another massive explosion. The ground underfoot being blown away as he was left suspended in a blistering flame. With a forceful brush of his hand, a compressed white orb of magic power enveloping his pointer finger, the attack was dissipated. A massive trail of destruction scarring the land beyond the older mage as he tapped softly down back to the ground.

Makarov was yet again surprised at the technique used by the demon as it propelled itself forward, the same burst of flame the boy was using himself earlier. _'Is it rooted in instinct...or is it something else? Memories possibly?' _The boy's body flew towards him, rotating in mid air and throwing a vicious kick towards Makarov's right side. The old man feeling the strain on his bone as even his giant's arm lurched up and absorbed the blow. He allowed himself to skid away to garner some distance and to minimize damage.

One again whipping out an orb encrusted finger three golden circular magic seals appeared around him, he formed a v with his hands and with a battle cry he let forth a massive ray of light. The blast completely enveloped the beast as it cackled happily. The ground sheering away in the wake of its downpour, kicking up another bout of dirt and smoke.

Bolts of fire tore through the smoke the first couple narrowly missing the gray haired man before he regained himself and set up barrier seals. The onslaught continued endlessly as they pounded against the shielding Makarov created for himself. More smoke ceaselessly polluting his forward vision. Although the damage being done was fluctuating in tune to the demon's power, he could still just about make out the demon's location.

_'Time for a little gamble.'_

"Oh stars which bind all evil! Send forth your heavenly chains! **Six Star Cross**!" Makarov chanted as he strained concentration to not only get precision but maintain his guard.

Above in the night sky, six massive spears formed and rained down like comets. They impacted harshly and released a blinding radiance. The technique pinning the demon down by forming a hexagonal formation around it, the sides of the hexagon closing up with bars of light. Dozens of light chains shot out and skewered through the teen's body connecting each of the spears to each other.

He saw the beast struggling against the confines of his prison as he relentlessly tried to thrash about, crying out in hoarse growls as if he were in a fit of rage. It was stuck in a hunched over position. Its arms locked above its head while its head was tilted towards the ground. Fire began burning around the demon as it tried to relinquish itself. The flames raging high and wide, but the prison held itself; seemingly un-phased by the expanse of power.

"I will purge the darkness in your heart boy..." The master said as he cupped both of his hands just over his chest, golden light radiating from his finger tips and out into the darkness as the magic assimilated. As he compressed the magic between his hands, he rotated and reversed the positioning of each of his hands, the earth and sky seemed to resonate in harmony. The dark clouds above them splitting and a massive golden orb filled their vacancy. "...And allow your light to guide the world into the next era!"

The demon once again heartily cackled, sucking in a mighty breath.

"As per tradition I shall give you a count of three!" The elderly man continued, "1!"

That's when the flames came flooding out of the young Salamander's mouth, pushing and forcing itself outwards as it tore through the earth. The area around them erupted into an infernal sea as flame swallowed everything and everything whole, and yet another explosion engulfed the entirety of Clover Town.

"2!" Master Makarov continued, gritting his teeth and clenching an eye in pain through the sudden rush of fire. He himself was awed at what he was experiencing first hand. The blast itself was much higher in magnitude then it was from the punch, turning even more of the stone rubble around them into molten slag, whatever wood in the near vicinity had already been burned away to ash. Never before had he seen such a massive expanse of power from a single person that was still yet incomplete. He could feel his flesh tingling as the flame washing over it burned him even through the protection his magic provided. Through the silhouette of flame he could see Salamander break free from his confines, raising his left hand in the process.

Then Makarov felt a stunning power as the power fluctuated to a level that even he hadn't anticipated, it grew and grew and grew. A never ending darkness that seemed to swallow him whole so much unlike the raging flames the wrought so much destruction around him. He could yet again feel such a bottomless and utterly twisted power rise up before him. A white light shining through the crater the used to be Clover Town. A sudden gust of wind blew the flames sideward just enough for Makarov to catch a glimpse of the attack that was to come.

A white orb of pulsing light was hovering at the bent finger tips of Salamander's clawed hand. The power emanating from the orb growing quickly as it absorbed the power that flowed from the veiny white markings that started from the golden levy and stretched across every inch of his body.

"3!" The old man boomed clasping his hands together, "**Fairy Law: Invoked**!"

Makarov watched in terror as the attack fired off at the same time. A white-hot beam shot out like a laser heading directly at him, he enlarged and shoved his hand outwards to intercept the engrossing diameter of the laser. The fiery mass washing over his forearm and blasting him in the face with a wave of pure heat as it completely overpowered the elderly Wizard Saint.

The world seemed to pause in this moment as the powers of good and evil clashed for what seemed to be the final time. The earth rattling of pure, unadulterated destruction versus an unrelenting scourge of all things evil.

As the light of Fairy Law died down it revealed Makarov to be standing but panting harshly. His hat and jacket had been completely incinerated leaving him in a white undershirt. His clothes and body as a whole steamed, most of his wrinkled skin was lightly burned. His face contorted in pain, not even stifling his cry, as his right arm reverted back to normal size. The skin up until the elbow having become charred an equally sinister black as that of the frozen state of Salamander.

The boy stood there in the same position as he did before, his legs spread wide in an open stance and his torso centered, and his left arm still honed in on Makarov. His face lacking the cruel tasteless smile that it'd had for the duration of his release while his eyes were dead.

"It seems that his power was put back under control..." The old man grumbled to himself as he tenderly clutched his damaged appendage. "Although it came at a much higher price than anticipated..."

The boy stood there frozen still for several more seconds until the shadowy aura puffed off his body and evaporated into thin air, leaving no trace that it was even there to begin with besides the ironic chill in the air despite his surroundings being a virtual hell. Salamander's body toppled over instantly, hitting the ground with a conclusive thud. His eyes not even coming to a complete close as he lost consciousness, regarding if he even had it in the first place.

Makarov need not even turn around to survey the massive amounts of destruction that was sure to have been created behind him.

"...So this is the brat, huh?" He said as he walked over to the body of the unconscious pink haired teen . "Seems as though I have my work cut out for me...too bad we couldn't have met under better circumstances. I would've surely loved to have seen you grow up to be a fine young wizard, and learned the proper way unto which you can control your power...but seems as though fate wouldn't have had it that way."

He let the conclusion of silence hang in the air as he activated his magic, enlarging himself, and hefted the body of the boy onto his shoulder with his good arm. He took a quick look at the stars and let out a long woeful sigh. He closed his eyes, and prepared to return to the hall, that saying if it still even remained at this point.

"What a dreadful hand you've been dealt boy...It will surely not be an easy road."

* * *

After hurriedly evacuating from the scarred battleground that was previously Clover Town the lone conscious Fairy Tail mages sat in silence. They'd marked their retreat immediately under the orders of Master Makarov, who now manned the driver's seat of the patched-up magic four wheeler.

Erza stared yet again at the chained-up man who was perched across the vehicle from the two women, Gray was leaned up against the door on the seat next to him. Lucy had somehow managed to fall asleep, but it didn't seem like she was having an easy time staying that way. Her face looked rather troubled and her lips were beginning to crease into a worrying frown.

_'What the hell are you?!'_ She asked herself in spite. The wholly grotesque and utterly horrific display she'd witnessed was unlike anything she's ever seen before. It only drove her disdain for the man higher. _'If he even is a man! Seems to be a fucking demon!'_

Her Master had seemed adamant about ignoring any questions that the red-head had for the time being, like anything had changed on that front either. The look in his eyes suggested he knew more than just a little about what exactly Salamander was.

As the moonlight filtered through the dirt covered window and through the iron bars crudely placed over the gaping door, a swirl of questions still raced incoherently through her mind. This was all just must too confusing for her, she was just emotionally shot at this point. However, it seemed that fate was more than kind to her and had dropped the answer to one of her life's greatest enigmas right before her very eyes. What she had seen explained all of the evil things that Salamander had done up until this point, and why...

"You...Now I finally understand! I finally know it was you that destroyed Rosemary Village!"

* * *

**Please review and follow for more!**


End file.
